One-pot in situ synthesis of oxygen vacancy-rich Bi3O4Br/Bi2O2CO3 S-scheme heterojunction for highly efficient photocatalytic nitrogen fixation

As a green alternative to the Haber-Bosch process, photocatalytic nitrogen fixation is currently hindered by three persistent challenges, namely rapid carrier recombination, the high activation energy of the N N bond, and weak N 2 adsorption affinity, which collectively impede its practical application. Herein, an oxygen vacancy (OV)-rich Bi 3 O 4 Br/Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 (BOBC) S-scheme heterojunction is rationally constructed via a facile one-pot in situ synthetic strategy. The formation of the S-scheme heterojunction induces directional charge transfer across the Bi 3 O 4 Br/Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 interface, effectively suppressing charge recombination while preserving the strong reduction potential of Bi 3 O 4 Br. Simultaneously, the introduced oxygen vacancies (OVs) act as dual-role regulators by enhancing N 2 adsorption through increased surface electron density and coordinatively unsaturated active sites, as well as facilitating electron injection into adsorbed N 2 via defect-induced electronic structure modulation, thereby synergistically destabilizing the N N bond and promoting its activation. Furthermore, the presence of OVs significantly improves light-harvesting capability of the heterojunction. Owing to these integrated merits, the optimized 15-BOBC-OVs catalyst exhibits a remarkable photocatalytic nitrogen fixation rate of 151.3 μmol g −1  h −1 in pure water, corresponding to a 12.0-fold enhancement compared with pristine Bi 3 O 4 Br. In situ FT-IR analysis provides direct evidence for an associative distal reaction mechanism during nitrogen reduction reaction. This work demonstrates a concise and effective strategy for the rational design Bi-rich bismuth oxyhalide photocatalysts for high-performance nitrogen fixation by coupling S-scheme heterojunction construction with oxygen vacancy engineering.