Ambient N2 fixation to NH3 electrocatalyzed by a spinel Fe3O4 nanorod. Issue 30 (20th July 2018) - Liu, Qin
Abstract : A spinel Fe3 O4 nanorod on a Ti mesh is a superior catalyst for electrochemical N2 fixation to NH3 in 0.1 M Na2 SO4, achieving a high FE of 2.6% with a NH3 yield of 5.6 × 10 −11 mol s −1 cm −2 at a potential of −0.4 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode. Abstract : Industrially, NH3 is mainly produced via the Haber–Bosch process which is not only energy-consuming but emits a large amount of CO2 . Electrochemical reduction is regarded as an environmentally-benign alternative for sustainable NH3 synthesis, and its efficiency heavily depends on the identification of Earth-abundant catalysts with high activity for the N2 reduction reaction (NRR). In this work, we report that a spinel Fe3 O4 nanorod on a Ti mesh (Fe3 O4 /Ti) acts as an efficient and durable NRR electrocatalyst under ambient conditions. When tested in 0.1 M Na2 SO4, such Fe3 O4 /Ti achieves a high faradaic efficiency of 2.6% and a NH3 yield 5.6 × 10 −11 mol s −1 cm −2 and at −0.4 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode.