Premium
Crystalline Red Phosphorus Nanoribbons: Large‐Scale Synthesis and Electrochemical Nitrogen Fixation
Author(s) -
Liu Qian,
Zhang Xue,
Wang Jiahong,
Zhang Yanli,
Bian Shi,
Cheng Ziqiang,
Kang Ning,
Huang Hao,
Gu Shuang,
Wang Yun,
Liu Danni,
Chu Paul K.,
Yu XueFeng
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.202006679
Subject(s) - electrochemistry , materials science , chemical engineering , electrolyte , nanotechnology , catalysis , phosphorus , nitrogen , reversible hydrogen electrode , faraday efficiency , nanorod , inorganic chemistry , electrode , chemistry , metallurgy , working electrode , organic chemistry , engineering
Two dimensional (2D) nanoribbons constitute an emerging nanoarchitecture for advanced microelectronics and energy conversion due to the stronger size confinement effects compared to traditional nanosheets. Triclinic crystalline red phosphorus (cRP) composed by a layered structure is a promising 2D phosphorus allotrope and the tube‐like substructure is beneficial to the construction of nanoribbons. In this work, few‐layer cRP nanoribbons are synthesized and the effectiveness in the electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) is investigated. An iodine‐assisted chemical vapor transport (CVT) method is developed to synthesize circa 10 g of bulk cRP lumps with a yield of over 99 %. With the aid of probe ultrasonic treatment, high‐quality cRP microcrystals are exfoliated into few‐layer nanoribbons (cRP NRs) with large aspect ratios. As non‐metallic materials, cRP NRs are suitable for the electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction. The ammonia yield is 15.4 μg h −1 mg cat. −1 at −0.4 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode in a neutral electrolyte under ambient conditions and the Faradaic efficiency is 9.4 % at −0.2 V. Not only is cRP a promising catalyst, but also the novel strategy expands the application of phosphorus‐based 2D structures beyond that of traditional nanosheets.