Au modified BiVO₄ microparticles for photocatalytic N₂ fixation

Abstract

In this work, a visible light photocatalyst based on Au modified BiVO₄ microspheres was synthesized successfully through using a facile photodeposition method for visible light N₂ fixation. Compared with pure BiVO₄ microparticles (MPs), the obtained Au/BiVO₄ MPs show superior N₂ photofixation performance to BiVO₄, owing to the enhancements of both the visible light absorption and charge carrier separation. After optimization, the actual NH₄⁺ generation rate of Au/BiVO₄ reaches 0.419 mg·L⁻¹, which is approximately 2 times higher than that of the pure BiVO₄ one. The results presented herein provide new insights into rational design of highly active catalysts with Au NPs toward efficient, stable, and sustainable visible light N₂ fixation in mild conditions.

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