Plasmon Sensitized Heterojunction 2D Ultrathin Ag/AgI-δ-Bi2O3 for Enhanced Photocatalytic Nitrogen Fixation

A novel 2D ultrathin Ag/AgI-delta-Bi2O3 photocatalyst was constructed by a facile hydrothermal and in situ photodeposition method, which presented a uniform nanosheet structure with an average height of 6 nm. Its composition, morphology and light-harvesting properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-vis spectrophotometer (UV-vis) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements in detail. The Ag/AgI-delta-Bi2O3 nanocomposites showed an excellent photocatalytic nitrogen fixation performance of 420 mu mol L-1 g(-1) h(-1) in water without any sacrificial agent. The introduction of Ag/AgI nanoparticles caused the morphology modification of delta-Bi2O3, a higher concentration of oxygen vacancy, and the construction of a plasmon sensitized heterojunction, resulting in enhanced light absorption, improved separation efficiency of charge carriers and strong N-2 absorption and activation ability, which are responsible for the superior photocatalytic performance of Ag/AgI-delta-Bi2O3.