Photocatalytic Synthesis of Ammonia from Pinecone Graphite-Phase Carbon Nitride Loaded with MoS₂ Nanosheets as Co-catalysts

Photocatalytic nitrogen fixation is a promising alternativetothe Haber-Bosch process to alleviate the energy and environmentalcrises. Here, we designed a pinecone-shaped graphite-phase carbonnitride (PCN) catalyst supported with MoS2 nanosheets bya supramolecular self-assembly method. The catalyst shows an excellentphotocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (PNRR) due to the largerspecific surface area and the enhancement of visible light owing tothe reduced band gap. Under simulated sunlight, the sample of PCNloaded with 5 wt % MoS2 nanosheets (MS5%/PCN) shows a PNRRefficiency of 279.41 mu mol g(-1) h(-1), which is 14.9 times that of bulk graphite-phase carbon nitride(g-C3N4), 4.6 times that of PCN, and 5.4 timesthat of MoS2, respectively. The unique pinecone-like structureof MS5%/PCN not only improves the ability of light absorption butalso assists in the uniform loading of MoS2 nanosheets.Likewise, the existence of MoS2 nanosheets improves thelight absorption ability of the catalyst and reduces the impedanceof the catalyst. Furthermore, as a co-catalyst, MoS2 nanosheetscan efficiently adsorb nitrogen (N-2) and serve as activeN(2) reduction sites. From the perspective of structuraldesign, this work can offer novel solutions for the creation of effectiveN(2)-fixing photocatalysts.