Electrochemical Ammonia Synthesis via Nitrogen Reduction Reaction on a MoS2 Catalyst: Theoretical and Experimental Studies

Abstract

The discovery of stable and noble‐metal‐free catalysts toward efficient electrochemical reduction of nitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3) is highly desired and significantly critical for the earth nitrogen cycle. Here, based on the theoretical predictions, MoS2 is first utilized to catalyze the N2 reduction reaction (NRR) under room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Electrochemical tests reveal that such catalyst achieves a high Faradaic efficiency (1.17%) and NH3 yield (8.08 × 10⁻¹¹ mol s⁻¹ cm⁻¹) at −0.5 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode in 0.1 m Na2SO4. Even in acidic conditions, where strong hydrogen evolution reaction occurs, MoS2 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.

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Identifiers

DOI

10.1002/adma.201800191

Journal

Advanced Materials

Year

2018