A High-Performance Three-Dimensional Monolithic Microreactor for Enhanced Photocatalytic Nitrogen Fixation

In this paper, microreaction technology is combined with photocatalytic nitrogen fixation reaction to overcome the traditional thermodynamic barrier. The conversion of nitrogen and water into ammonia at ambient temperature and pressure is achieved. By anchoring La-MoO_3-<i>_x</i>/CuInS₂ to Cu foam, it combines a complete foam-based photocatalyst with a microfluidic flow channel. This design effectively enhances the mass transfer of nitrogen and water between the catalysts by increasing the perturbation between the gas-liquid phases, which kinetically ensures the improvement of the photocatalytic nitrogen fixation performance. The photocatalytic performance of this foam-based microreactor was evaluated, and the ammonia yield was 201.7 μmol·g_cat^-1·h^-1 under simulated visible light irradiation. High ammonia yields were obtained for this monolithic catalyst in this continuous flow foam-based microreactor at room temperature and pressure. This work guides the optimization of photomicroreactors and offers feasible ideas for the reduction of N₂ using foam-based microreactors.