Solar‐Driven Conversion of Nitrogen and Water to Solid Fertilizer in an Outdoor 1 m<sup>2</sup> Panel Reactor
Jinhu Wang, Guangliu Ran, Junyu Gao, Dong Li, Geoffrey I. N. Waterhouse, Run Shi, Wenkai Zhang, Junwang Tang, Li‐Zhu Wu, Yunxuan Zhao, Tierui Zhang
Abstract
Abstract Harnessing solar energy to convert molecular N 2 into nitrogen‐rich chemicals (e.g., ammonia) provides a potential pathway for the manufacture of “solar fertilizers”. However, the solar‐to‐ammonia (STA) efficiency of most solar fertilizer systems developed to date is less than 0.1%. Herein, an outstanding STA efficiency of ≈0.3% using a metallic molybdenum trioxide (metallic MoO 3‐x ) photocatalyst under simulated‐solar irradiation is reported, with localized surface plasmon resonance phenomena in the metallic MoO 3‐x photocatalyst enhancing both light utilization and N 2 activation. The potential scalability of the photocatalytic technology is demonstrated in a 1 m 2 panel reactor system, with a high STA efficiency and good stability demonstrated over 6 days of outdoor testing, yielding a solid (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 product for easy collection. The as‐designed square‐meter outdoor reaction system facilitates the integration of solar fertilizer technology with existing agricultural infrastructure.