Defective S/N co-doped carbon cloth via a one-step process for effective electroreduction of nitrogen to ammonia. Issue 17 (6th March 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cheng, Shaoan; Li, Chaochao; Yu, Zhen; Sun, Yi; Li, Longxin; Yang, Jiawei
• Is Part Of: RSC advances. Volume 10:Issue 17(2020)
• Page Start: 9814
• Page End: 9823
• Publication Date: 2020-03-06
• Subjects: Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540.5
• DOI: 10.1039/d0ra00155d
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2046-2069

Abstract

Abstract : The electroreduction of nitrogen (N2 ) has gained increasing attention as a promising route to achieve green and sustainable ammonia (NH3 ) production. Abstract : The electroreduction of nitrogen (N2 ) has gained increasing attention as a promising route to achieve green and sustainable ammonia (NH3 ) production. However, the construction of an active and durable electrocatalyst for N2 reduction reaction (NRR) remains a significant challenge. Herein, we, for the first time, report that S/N co-doped carbon cloth (CC) with abundant defects can serve as an efficient NRR electrocatalyst at ambient conditions. The S/N co-doped CC was prepared through a novel one-step method by using ammonium persulfate (APS) as the source of nitrogen and sulfur. The catalyst prepared at 800 °C (CC-APS 800) showed abundant defects and heteroatoms as the active and stable electrocatalytic sites for NH3 electrosynthesis. Based on this, a sizeable NH3 yield of 9.87 × 10 −10 mol s −1 cm −2 and high faradaic efficiency of 8.11% were obtained in 0.05 M H2 SO4 at −0.3 V ( vs. reversible hydrogen electrode, RHE), respectively. Furthermore, the electrocatalytic mechanism on CC-APS 800 was elucidated using the electrochemical in situ Fourier transform infrared technique, and follows an associative reaction pathway. Our work would provide a new guideline for designing metal-free self-standing electrocatalysts for the NRR and other applications.