Building Asymmetric B Vacancy Coupled FeB <sub>2</sub> N <sub>3</sub> Associate Site by Joule Heating Metal‐Based Ionic Liquid for Enhanced Full Wavelength Photosynthesis of Ammonia

ABSTRACT Building an asymmetric active site has been regarded as an effective strategy to boost photocatalytic ammonia synthesis. However, there is a lack of effective and controllable methods for rapidly constructing asymmetric sites. Herein, Fe single atoms are engineered onto BCN atomic layer (Fe‐BCN) using a metal‐based ionic liquid through a rapid joule heating method. A FeB 2 N 3 coordination structure coupled with B vacancy can be created in Fe‐BCN, forming an asymmetric associate site. This asymmetric configuration leads to the generation of local charge redistribution and a polarized electric field at the interface, promoting the photo‐generated charge separation. Moreover, the synergy between B vacancies and FeB 2 N 3 sites transforms the interfacial electronic interaction with key *NO 2 intermediate from p–p to d–p interaction, enhancing orbital hybridization between the 3d z2 orbitals of Fe and the 2b1 antibonding orbitals of *NO 2 , significantly accelerating the conversion of *NO 2 . The key reaction intermediates are verified by 15 N isotope in‐situ FTIR. Benefiting from these features, the optimized Fe‐BCN shows 8.8 and 58.5 times enhanced NH 3 production activity than BCN and BN, respectively, while the NH 3 production rate over Fe‐BCN‐2 device arrives 1182.5 µmol g −1 h −1 . This study provides new ideas for the fast construction of asymmetric active sites and the key role of intermediate interaction regulation.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2026-07-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.77169
Primary Topic
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Building Asymmetric B Vacancy Coupled FeB 2 N 3 Associate Site by Joule Heating Metal‐Based Ionic Liquid for Enhanced Full Wavelength Photosynthesis of Ammonia

Wei Jiang, Hang Xiao, Y Zhang, Xiaomin Yang et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
article

Building Asymmetric B Vacancy Coupled FeB 2 N 3 Associate Site by Joule Heating Metal‐Based Ionic Liquid for Enhanced Full Wavelength Photosynthesis of Ammonia

Wei Jiang, Hang Xiao, Y Zhang, Xiaomin Yang, Molly Meng‐Jung Li, Jun Di, Jun Xiong, Zheng Liu, Kan Zhang, Yameng He, Bo Lin
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Building an asymmetric active site has been regarded as an effective strategy to boost photocatalytic ammonia synthesis. However, there is a lack of effective and controllable methods for rapidly constructing asymmetric sites. Herein, Fe single atoms are engineered onto BCN atomic layer (Fe‐BCN) using a metal‐based ionic liquid through a rapid joule heating method. A FeB 2 N 3 coordination structure coupled with B vacancy can be created in Fe‐BCN, forming an asymmetric associate site. This asymmetric configuration leads to the generation of local charge redistribution and a polarized electric field at the interface, promoting the photo‐generated charge separation. Moreover, the synergy between B vacancies and FeB 2 N 3 sites transforms the interfacial electronic interaction with key *NO 2 intermediate from p–p to d–p interaction, enhancing orbital hybridization between the 3d z2 orbitals of Fe and the 2b1 antibonding orbitals of *NO 2 , significantly accelerating the conversion of *NO 2 . The key reaction intermediates are verified by 15 N isotope in‐situ FTIR. Benefiting from these features, the optimized Fe‐BCN shows 8.8 and 58.5 times enhanced NH 3 production activity than BCN and BN, respectively, while the NH 3 production rate over Fe‐BCN‐2 device arrives 1182.5 µmol g −1 h −1 . This study provides new ideas for the fast construction of asymmetric active sites and the key role of intermediate interaction regulation.

Advanced Functional Materials
Jiangsu University (CN), Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK), Nanyang Technological University (SG), Nanjing University of Science and Technology (CN), Xi'an Jiaotong University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 23%
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
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