Tuning the exposure of BiVO4-{010} facets to enhance the N2 photofixation performance

Effective separation of photoexcited carriers and chemisorption of the N2 molecule are two key issues to efficient nitrogen photofixation. The spatial charge separation of BiVO4 with anisotropic exposed facets, namely the transfer of photoexcited electrons and holes to {010} and {110} facets, respectively, helps to enhance the separation ability of photogenerated carriers. Theoretical calculation results predict that a surface oxygen vacancy is easier to form on the (010) facet than on the (110) facet of BiVO4. Accordingly, in this study, enhanced N2 photofixation performance has been achieved for the first time by tuning the exposure of {010} facets of BiVO4.