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Single Atoms of Iron on MoS 2 Nanosheets for N 2 Electroreduction into Ammonia
Author(s) -
Su Hongyang,
Chen Lanlan,
Chen Yizhen,
Si Rui,
Wu Yuting,
Wu Xiaonan,
Geng Zhigang,
Zhang Wenhua,
Zeng Jie
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.202009217
Subject(s) - catalysis , ammonia , nitrogenase , electrochemistry , ammonia production , reversible hydrogen electrode , materials science , hydrogen , yield (engineering) , inorganic chemistry , electrode , nitrogen , chemical engineering , chemistry , nitrogen fixation , metallurgy , working electrode , organic chemistry , engineering
Efforts have been devoted to achieving a highly efficient artificial synthesis of ammonia (NH 3 ). Reported herein is a novel Fe‐MoS 2 catalyst with Fe atomically dispersed onto MoS 2 nanosheets, imitating natural nitrogenase, to boost N 2 electroreduction into NH 3 at room temperature. The Fe‐MoS 2 nanosheets exhibited a faradic efficiency of 18.8 % with a yield rate of 8.63 μgNH3 mg cat. −1 h −1 for NH 3 at −0.3 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode. The mechanism study revealed that the electroreduction of N 2 was promoted and the competing hydrogen evolution reaction was suppressed by decorating the edge sites of S in MoS 2 with the atomically dispersed Fe, resulting in high catalytic performance for the electroreduction of N 2 into NH 3 . This work provides new ideas for the design of catalysts for N 2 electroreduction and strengthens the understanding about N 2 activation over Mo‐based catalysts.