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Pothole‐rich Ultrathin WO 3 Nanosheets that Trigger N≡N Bond Activation of Nitrogen for Direct Nitrate Photosynthesis
Author(s) -
Liu Youwen,
Cheng Ming,
He Zhihai,
Gu Bingchuan,
Xiao Chong,
Zhou Tengfei,
Guo Zaiping,
Liu Jiandang,
He Haiyan,
Ye Bangjiao,
Pan Bicai,
Xie Yi
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201808177
Subject(s) - catalysis , nanosheet , nitrate , covalent bond , dangling bond , chemistry , nitrogen , materials science , photochemistry , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , silicon , engineering
Nitrate is a raw ingredient for the production of fertilizer, gunpowder, and explosives. Developing an alternative approach to activate the N≡N bond of naturally abundant nitrogen to form nitrate under ambient conditions will be of importance. Herein, pothole‐rich WO 3 was used to catalyse the activation of N≡N covalent triple bonds for the direct nitrate synthesis at room temperature. The pothole‐rich structure endues the WO 3 nanosheet more dangling bonds and more easily excited high momentum electrons, which overcome the two major bottlenecks in N≡N bond activation, that is, poor binding of N 2 to catalytic materials and the high energy involved in this reaction. The average rate of nitrate production is as high as 1.92 mg g −1 h −1 under ambient conditions, without any sacrificial agent or precious‐metal co‐catalysts. More generally, the concepts will initiate a new pathway for triggering inert catalytic reactions.