High-Performance N₂-to-NH₃ Conversion Electrocatalyzed by Mo₂C Nanorod

Abstract

The synthesis of NH₃ is mainly dominated by the traditional energy-consuming Haber-Bosch process with a mass of CO₂ emission. Electrochemical conversion of N₂ to NH₃ emerges as a carbon-free process for the sustainable artificial N₂ reduction reaction (NRR), but requires an efficient and stable electrocatalyst. Here, we report that the Mo₂C nanorod serves as an excellent NRR electrocatalyst for artificial N₂ fixation to NH₃ with strong durability and acceptable selectivity under ambient conditions. Such a catalyst shows a high Faradaic efficiency of 8.13% and NH₃ yield of 95.1 μg h^-1 mg^-1 _cat at -0.3 V in 0.1 M HCl, surpassing the majority of reported electrochemical conversion NRR catalysts. Density functional theory calculation was carried out to gain further insight into the catalytic mechanism involved.