Photocatalytic nitrogen fixation has been burgeoning since the 20th century because the conventional Haber–Bosch process is quite energy-intensive, so other sustainable alternatives are highly required. This work uses a facile way to synthesize ultrasmall metal ruthenium on TiO 2 (P25) for photocatalytic nitrogen fixation at ambient temperature and pressure. The metal ruthenium is 2–3 nm in size and evenly dispersed over TiO 2 (P25). Both Indophenol method and ion chromatography are used to detect the ammonia yield, and possible mechanism is also proposed.
Yarui Wang,Chengzhuo Yu,Sen Wang,Jin Xu,Fanglan Geng,Silong Wang,Jitao Lv,Lixia Zhao,Yawei Wang
Humic acids (HA) released during algal bloom poses a key challenge for efficient photocatalytic degradation of Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) due to their scavenging function on active species. Herein, MIL-101(Fe)/TiO 2 -P25 (M/P) was constructed to diminish the inhibitory effect of HA on the photocatalytic degradation of MC-LR. Results showed that MC-LR could be efficiently removed assigning to the photogenerated holes (h + ) and superoxide radical (O 2 •− ) oxidation under visible light irradiation, where the carboxy groups of D -glutamic acid (Glu) and methyl- D -aspartic acid (MeAsp), and Adda side chain related to MC-LR biotoxicity were selectively destroyed to achieve MC-LR detoxication. More importantly, HA exerted non-inhibitory effect on MC-LR removal by M/P. The counteracting mechanisms were studied. Firstly, the location of TiO 2 in the pore structure of MIL-101(Fe) could occupy the adsorption sites of HA, and decrease the HA adsorption on M/P. Furthermore, XPS analyses suggested the coordination of unsaturated Fe metal sites on the surface of M/P hybrids complexed with –OH and –COOH of HA, which could accelerate the electron transfer and reduce hole consumption. Thus, the inhibitory effect of HA was alleviated during photocatalytic MC-LR treatment. This work offers a possible way to remove MC-LR in an abundant HA matrix water system efficiently.