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An MnO2–Ti3C2Tx MXene nanohybrid: an efficient and durable electrocatalyst toward artificial N2 fixation to NH3 under ambient conditions.
- Source :
- Journal of Materials Chemistry A; 8/28/2019, Vol. 7 Issue 32, p18823-18827, 5p
- Publication Year :
- 2019
-
Abstract
- Industrial synthesis of NH<subscript>3</subscript> relies mainly on the traditional Haber–Bosch process, which is highly energy-intensive with enormous greenhouse gas emission. Electrochemical N<subscript>2</subscript> reduction provides an eco-friendly approach for energy-saving NH<subscript>3</subscript> synthesis, but it requires highly efficient electrocatalysts under ambient conditions. In this communication, an MnO<subscript>2</subscript>-decorated Ti<subscript>3</subscript>C<subscript>2</subscript>T<subscript>x</subscript> (T = F, OH) MXene nanohybrid (MnO<subscript>2</subscript>–Ti<subscript>3</subscript>C<subscript>2</subscript>T<subscript>x</subscript>) is proposed as a highly active electrocatalyst for the N<subscript>2</subscript> reduction reaction with strong durability. In addition, only the NH<subscript>3</subscript> product without N<subscript>2</subscript>H<subscript>4</subscript> can be detected during the NRR, revealing the excellent selectivity of MnO<subscript>2</subscript>–Ti<subscript>3</subscript>C<subscript>2</subscript>T<subscript>x</subscript> for NH<subscript>3</subscript> formation. A high NH<subscript>3</subscript> yield of 34.12 μg h<superscript>−1</superscript> mg<subscript>cat</subscript><superscript>−1</superscript> and a high faradaic efficiency of 11.39% are achieved at −0.55 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode in 0.1 M HCl. Density functional theory calculations further reveal that the unsaturated surface Mn atoms act as active sites to adsorb and activate the inert N<subscript>2</subscript> molecules for the NRR process, and the rate-determining step is the first hydrogenation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20507488
- Volume :
- 7
- Issue :
- 32
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Materials Chemistry A
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 138101806
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1039/c9ta04902a