Photon-driven chemical processes are usually mediated by oxides, nitrides and sulfides whose photo-conversion efficiency is limited by charge carrier recombination. Here we show that lithium hydride undergoes photolysis upon ultraviolet illumination to yield long-lived photon-generated electrons residing in hydrogen vacancies, known as F centres. We demonstrate that photon-driven dehydrogenation and dark rehydrogenation over lithium hydride can be fulfilled reversibly at room temperature, which is about 600 K lower than the corresponding thermal process. As light-driven F centre generation could provide an alternative approach to charge carrier separation to favour chemical transformations that are kinetically or thermodynamically challenging, we show that light-activated lithium hydride cleaves the N≡N triple bond to form a N-H bond under mild conditions. Co-feeding a N2/H2 mixture with low H2 partial pressure leads to photocatalytic ammonia formation at near ambient conditions. This work provides insights into the development of advanced materials and processes for light harvesting and conversion.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.