Ru and RuO_xdecorated carbon nitride for efficient ammonia photosynthesis

Abstract

Photocatalytic ammonia synthesis is a promising strategy for sustainable development compared to the energy-intensive industrial Haber-Bosch approach. Herein, a ternary heterostructure that consists of ruthenium species and carbon nitride (C₃N₄) was rationally explored for ammonia photosynthesis. Compared to the small ammonia yield from the g-C₃N₄ and Ru/g-C₃N₄ system, the Ru/RuO₂/g-C₃N₄ system represents 6 times higher activity with excellent stability under full-spectrum irradiation. Such an enhancement is not only due to efficient transfer of electrons and holes to Ru and RuO₂, respectively, facilitating both the reduction and oxidation reaction, but also taking advantage of Ru for N[triple bond, length as m-dash]N activation.