Photocatalytic Nitrogen Fixation Coupled with the Generation of Value-Added Chemicals from N and Cellulose over MoO Nanosheets.

Photocatalytic nitrogen fixation from N provides an alternative strategy for ammonia (NH) production, but it was limited by the consumption of a sacrificial electron donor for the currently reported half-reaction system. Here, we use naturally abundant and renewable cellulose as the sacrificial reagent for photocatalytic nitrogen fixation over oxygen-vacancy-modified MoO nanosheets as the photocatalyst. In this smartly designed photocatalytic system, the photooxidation of cellulose not only generates value-added chemicals but also provides electrons for the N reduction reaction and results in the production of NH with a maximum rate of 68 μmol·h·g. Also, the oxygen vacancies provide efficient active sites for both cellulose oxygenolysis and nitrogen fixation reactions. This work represents useful inspiration for realizing nitrogen fixation coupled with the generation of value-added chemicals from N and cellulose through a photocatalysis strategy.