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Rational Design of Hydroxyl‐Rich Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene Quantum Dots for High‐Performance Electrochemical N 2 Reduction
Author(s) -
Jin Zhaoyong,
Liu Chuangwei,
Liu Zaichun,
Han Jingrui,
Fang Yanfeng,
Han Yaqian,
Niu Yusheng,
Wu Yuping,
Sun Chenghua,
Xu Yuanhong
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced energy materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.08
H-Index - 220
eISSN - 1614-6840
pISSN - 1614-6832
DOI - 10.1002/aenm.202000797
Subject(s) - faraday efficiency , electrocatalyst , catalysis , materials science , intercalation (chemistry) , electrochemistry , density functional theory , yield (engineering) , redox , quantum yield , selectivity , ammonia , nanotechnology , inorganic chemistry , chemistry , electrode , computational chemistry , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , metallurgy , fluorescence
To enable an efficient and cost‐effective electrocatalytic N 2 reduction reaction (NRR) the development of an electrocatalyst with a high NH 3 yield and good selectivity is required. In this work, Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene‐derived quantum dots (Ti 3 C 2 T x QDs) with abundant active sites enable the development of efficient NRR electrocatalysts. Given surface functional groups play a key role on the electrocatalytic performance, density functional theory calculations are first conducted, clarifying that hydroxyl groups on Ti 3 C 2 T x offer excellent NRR activity. Accordingly, hydroxyl‐rich Ti 3 C 2 T x QDs (Ti 3 C 2 OH QDs) are synthesized as NRR catalysts by alkalization and intercalation. This material offers an NH 3 yield and Faradaic efficiency of 62.94 µg h −1 mg −1 cat. and 13.30% at −0.50 V, respectively, remarkably higher than reported MXene catalysts. This work demonstrates that MXene catalysts can be mediated through the optimization of both QDs sizes and functional groups for efficient ammonia production at room temperature.