Electrocatalytic N₂ reduction to NH₃ with high Faradaic efficiency enabled by vanadium phosphide nanoparticle on V foil

To develop highly efficient electrochemical catalysts for N₂ fixation is important to sustainable ambient NH₃ production through the N₂ reduction reaction (NRR). Herein, we demonstrate the development of vanadium phosphide nanoparticle on V foil as a high- efficiency and stable catalyst for ambient NH₃ production with excellent selectivity. The high Faradaic efficiency of 22% with a large NH₃ yield of 8.35 × 10^-11 mol·s^-1·cm^-2 was obtained at 0 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode in acid solution, superior to all previously studied V-based NRR catalysts. Density functional theory calculations are also utilized to have an insight into the catalytic mechanism.