Issue

Vol. 13 (2021)

Bi-Atom Electrocatalyst for Electrochemical Nitrogen Reduction Reactions

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-021-00638-y
Wenchao Zhang
Institute of Environmental Engineering, School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, People’s Republic of China
Bin‑Wei Zhang
Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials (ISEM), School of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronics and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia

Corresponding Author: Bin‑Wei Zhang

bz370@uowmail.edu.au

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 13 (2021), Article Number: 106

Abstract

The electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) to directly produce NH3 from N2 and H2O under ambient conditions has attracted significant attention due to its ecofriendliness. Nevertheless, the electrochemical NRR presents several practical challenges, including sluggish reaction and low selectivity. Here, bi-atom catalysts have been proposed to achieve excellent activity and high selectivity toward the electrochemical NRR by Ma and his co-workers. It could accelerate the kinetics of N2-to-NH3 electrochemical conversion and possess better electrochemical NRR selectivity. This work sheds light on the introduction of bi-atom catalysts to enhance the performance of the electrochemical NRR.


Highlights:


1 A new heteronuclear bi-atom electrocatalyst has been proposed by Ma and his co-workers.
2 The FeV@C2N bi-atom electrocatalyst achieved excellent electrochemical NRR performance.
3 The FeV@C2N bi-atom electrocatalyst could effectively suppress the side and competing HER reaction, and thus possess better electrochemical NRR selectivity.

Keywords

Electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction Bi-atom catalysts Excellent activity High selectivity
Zhang, Wenchao, and Bin‑Wei Zhang. 2021. “Bi-Atom Electrocatalyst for Electrochemical Nitrogen Reduction Reactions”. Nano-Micro Letters 13 (April):106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-021-00638-y.
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