Oxygen‐Vacancy‐Regulated Piezoelectric Field‐Assisted Photocatalytic Nitrogen Fixation Over La 2 Ti 2 O 7 Nanosheets
Photocatalytic nitrogen fixation is commonly limited by sluggish N 2 activation and rapid recombination of photogenerated charge carriers. Here, layered piezoelectric La 2 Ti 2 O 7 (LTO) nanosheets were used as a model oxide, and Ti 3+ ‐associated oxygen vacancies were introduced by Ar/H 2 reduction. Oxygen vacancies created electron‐rich Ti sites, promoted N 2 adsorption and charge transfer, and enhanced the local electromechanical response. Under simultaneous light irradiation and ultrasonication, optimized LTO‐600 delivered an NH 3 production rate of 148.4 μmol g −1 h −1 in pure water without sacrificial agents. 15 N 2 isotope labeling confirmed that NH 3 originated from N 2 reduction. Site‐resolved calculations show that the vacancy‐neighboring Ti site is the principal electron donor, whereas neighboring La weakly polarizes and stabilizes the distal N atom. The combined defect‐mediated N 2 activation and piezoelectric‐field‐assisted charge separation account for the enhanced activity.
Authors
- Xiaoyan Cai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0589-3544)
- Liang Mao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0257-3833)
- Xiaowei Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8948-072X)
- Yuzhen Sun
- Liting Zeng
- Qing Xu
- Zhiming Wang
Institutions
- China University of Mining and Technology (CN)
- Jianghan University (CN)
- Zhejiang University of Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Solar RRL
- Published
- 2026-10-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/solr.70528
- Primary Topic
- Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00