TY  - JOUR
AU  - Liu, Guohua
AU  - Niu, Lijuan
AU  - Ma, Zhixue
AU  - An, Li
AU  - Qu, Dan
AU  - Wang, Dandan
AU  - Wang, Xiayan
AU  - Sun, Zaicheng
PY  - 2022
TI  - Fe2Mo3O8/XC-72 electrocatalyst for enhanced electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction under ambient conditions
JO  - Nano Research
SN  - 1998-0124
SP  - 5940
EP  - 5945
VL  - 15
IS  - 7
AB  - To perform the electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) under milder conditions for sustainable ammonia production, electrocatalysts should exhibit high selectivity, activity, and durability. However, the key restrictions are the highly stable N≡N triple bond and the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), which make it difficult to adsorb and activate N2 on the surface of electrocatalysts, leading to a low ammonia yield and Faraday efficiency. Inspired by the enzymatic nitrogenase process and using the Fe-Mo as the active center, here we report supported Fe2Mo3O8/XC-72 as an effective and durable electrocatalyst for the NRR. Fe2Mo3O8/XC-72 exhibited NRR activity with an NH3 yield of 30.4 μg·h−1·mg−1 (−0.3 V) and a Faraday efficiency of 8.2% (−0.3 V). Theoretical calculations demonstrated that the electrocatalytic nitrogen fixation mechanism involved the Fe atom in the Fe2Mo3O8/XC-72 electrocatalyst acting as the main active site in the enzymatic pathway (*NH2 → *NH3), which activated nitrogen molecules and promoted the NRR performance.
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-4262-1
DO  - 10.1007/s12274-022-4262-1