Controllable fabrication of sulfur-vacancy-rich Bi2S3 nanorods with efficient near-infrared light photocatalytic for nitrogen fixation

Herein, orthorhombic phase Bi2S3 nanorods with different concentration of sulfur vacancies (SVs) were controllably synthesized via a facile solvothermal strategy. Benefited from the high specific surface area, proper band gap, good reduction capacity and abundant SVs, the Bi2S3 nanorods exhibit remarkable photocatalytic nitrogen fixation performance. The ammonia yield of the sulfur-vacancy-rich Bi2S3-3 is around 51.04 μmol g−1 h−1 under full solar irradiation. Moreover, Bi2S3-3 also responds sensitively to near-infrared (NIR) light, and the nitrogen reduction rate is 33.37 μmol g−1 h−1. The superior photocatalytic performance of Bi2S3 is mainly attributed to SVs, which can absorb nitrogen and afford plentiful active sites to activate molecular nitrogen. Moreover, SVs also can trap the photoinduced electrons and contribute to the separation of the interfacial charge. This work provides a promising and sustainable defect-rich photocatalyst for the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen using solar energy.