Photocatalytic N2 fixation by plasmonic Mo-doped TiO2 semiconductor

Photocatalytic N 2 fixation has attracted substantial attention in recent years, as it represents a green and sustainable development route toward efficiently converting N 2 to NH 3 for industrial applications. How to rationally design catalysts in this regard remains a challenge. Here we propose a strategy that uses plasmonic hot electrons in the highly doped TiO 2 to activate the inert N 2 molecules. The synthesized semiconductor catalyst Mo-doped TiO 2 shows a NH 3 production efficiency as high as 134 µmol · g −1 · h −1 under ambient conditions, which is comparable to that achieved by the conventional plasmonic gold metal. By means of ultra-fast spectroscopy we reveal that the plasmonic hot electrons in the system are responsible for the activation of N 2 molecules, enabling improvement the catalytic activity of TiO 2 . This work opens a new avenue toward semiconductor plasmon-based photocatalytic N 2 fixation.