Bi-Atom Electrocatalyst for Electrochemical Nitrogen Reduction Reactions

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.

Two-Dimensional Heterojunction Electrocatalyst: Au-Bi2Te3 Nanosheets for Electrochemical Ammonia Synthesis

“…The XRD diffraction peaks of Au-Bi 2 Te 3 NSs also become weaker after the stability test (Figure S19). These changes are probably due to the partial dissolution of the Te element from the surface of Bi 2 Te 3 NSs . Moreover, the XPS results for the post-test Au-Bi 2 Te 3 NSs demonstrate that a small fraction of Te oxides on the surface is reduced to Te 0 (Figure S20), indicating the stability of the composition.…”

“…These changes are probably due to the partial dissolution of the Te element from the surface of Bi 2 Te 3 NSs. 16 Moreover, the XPS results for the post-test Au-Bi 2 Te 3 NSs demonstrate that a small fraction of Te oxides on the surface is reduced to Te 0 (Figure S20), indicating the stability of the composition. − ; UV−vis absorption spectra; XRD pattern; XPS spectra; energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX); elemental mapping images; cyclic voltammetry curves; EIS; atomic ratio (Table S1); particle size (nm) (Table S2); and more comparative information (Table S3) (PDF)…”

“…Electrocatalytic N 2 reduction to produce NH 3 has been demonstrated to be a promising method, where one of the key issues is the preparation of efficient catalysts. Recently, Bi-based materials have been reported to exhibit robust nitrogen reduction catalytic performance; − thus, Bi 2 Te 3 is worth studying as an effective catalyst for the nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR). For instance, the Huang group prepared Bi 2 Te 3 nanoplates for the electrochemical reduction of small molecules including N 2 .…”

Simple Bottom-Up Synthesis of Bismuthene Nanostructures with a Suitable Morphology for Competitive Performance in the Electrocatalytic Nitrogen Reduction Reaction

“…Our work shows that simple colloidal chemical routes are convenient for the production of Bi nanostructures that are suitable for the NRR, which is an eco-friendly reaction but with challenges to overcome such as sluggish kinetics and low selectivity. 65 Future objectives will be to adapt our synthetic protocol for bimetallic nanostructures such as Pd-Bi, which have also been shown to be promising for the NRR. 66 The use of ionic liquids as electrolytes in an attempt to further increase the resulting FE will also be investigated.…”

Conversion of Catalytically Inert 2D Bismuth Oxide Nanosheets for Effective Electrochemical Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Catalysis via Oxygen Vacancy Concentration Modulation

“…Bismuth (Bi), a P -block post-transition metal and a remarkably harmless element among the toxic heavy metals, has sparked interest in areas varying from medical to industrial chemistry [ 37 ]. Specifically, it has been demonstrated to be an outstanding electrocatalyst for carbon dioxide [ 38 , 39 ] and nitrogen reduction [ 40 – 42 ], due to its inert HER activity and unfavorable free energy of hydrogen adsorption (∆ G H* ) which inhibits this competing reaction. Nørskov et al have reported that the Bi catalyst has ultrahigh binding energy toward H * intermediates among various metal surfaces [ 43 ].…”