An MOF-derived C@NiO@Ni electrocatalyst for N2 conversion to NH3 in alkaline electrolytes. Issue 1 (1st October 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Luo, Shijian; Li, Xiaoman; Gao, Wanguo; Zhang, Haiqiang; Luo, Min
• Is Part Of: Sustainable energy & fuels. Volume 4:Issue 1(2020)
• Page Start: 164
• Page End: 170
• Publication Date: 2019-10-01
• Subjects: Renewable energy sources -- Periodicals; Fuel cells -- Periodicals; Electric batteries -- Periodicals; Electrochemistry -- Periodicals; 660.297
• DOI: 10.1039/c9se00691e
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2398-4902

Abstract

Abstract : MOF-derived C@NiO@Ni are proposed as an efficient electrocatalyst for N2 reduction reaction in alkaline media. Abundant oxygen vacancies and NiO/Ni interfaces can act as active sites for adsorbing nitrogen and proton, respectively. Abstract : Today, industrial ammonia synthesis mainly depends on the Haber–Bosch process, which causes a lot of energy consumption and huge CO2 emissions. The electrochemical N2 reduction reaction (NRR) is considered a more sustainable and environmentally benign alternative to produce ammonia, but it requires an efficient catalyst to overcome the difficulty of N2 activation. In this work, we reported that MOF-derived C@NiO@Ni microtubes behaved as a high-efficiency electrocatalyst in 0.1 M KOH electrolyte. This electrocatalyst achieved a high NH3 yield of 43.15 μg h −1 mgcat. −1 and faradaic efficiency of 10.9% at −0.7 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode. The experimental results indicated that the excellent NRR performance originated from the oxygen vacancies in NiO. Moreover, the abundant NiO/Ni interfaces were conducive to proton adsorption and further enhanced the NRR performance.