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Electrochemical Ammonia Synthesis via Nitrogen Reduction Reaction on a MoS 2 Catalyst: Theoretical and Experimental Studies
Author(s) -
Zhang Ling,
Ji Xuqiang,
Ren Xiang,
Ma Yongjun,
Shi Xifeng,
Tian Ziqi,
Asiri Abdullah M.,
Chen Liang,
Tang Bo,
Sun Xuping
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201800191
Subject(s) - catalysis , electrochemistry , faraday efficiency , ammonia production , reversible hydrogen electrode , ammonia , nitrogen , materials science , inorganic chemistry , redox , yield (engineering) , hydrogen , noble metal , transition metal , metal , electrode , chemistry , working electrode , organic chemistry , metallurgy
The discovery of stable and noble‐metal‐free catalysts toward efficient electrochemical reduction of nitrogen (N 2 ) to ammonia (NH 3 ) is highly desired and significantly critical for the earth nitrogen cycle. Here, based on the theoretical predictions, MoS 2 is first utilized to catalyze the N 2 reduction reaction (NRR) under room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Electrochemical tests reveal that such catalyst achieves a high Faradaic efficiency (1.17%) and NH 3 yield (8.08 × 10 −11 mol s −1 cm −1 ) at −0.5 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode in 0.1 m Na 2 SO 4 . Even in acidic conditions, where strong hydrogen evolution reaction occurs, MoS 2 is still active for the NRR. This work represents an important addition to the growing family of transition‐metal‐based catalysts with advanced performance in NRR.