Electrocatalytic Nitrogen Reduction to Ammonia by Fe₂O₃ Nanorod Array on Carbon Cloth

Abstract

Electrocatalytic nitrogen fixation provides a green and facile strategy for efficient synthesis of ammonia under ambient conditions, but it lacks efficient and inexpensive electrocatalysts for the nitrogen reduction reaction. Here, we report the synthesis of porous Fe2O3 nanorods grown on carbon cloth (p-Fe2O3/CC) via a surfactant-free hydrothermal reaction coupled with high-temperature calcination. The obtained p-Fe2O3/CC serves as a superior electrocatalyst for producing ammonia by electrolysis of nitrogen and water in neutral electrolytes (0.1 M Na2SO4). Benefiting from its binder-free characteristic and porous structure, p-Fe2O3/CC achieves superior catalytic performance and excellent long-term stability. This study is significant to design low-cost and binder-free porous Fe-based arrays as effective and stable electrocatalysts for electrochemical ammonia synthesis.

Exploration and Investigation of Periodic Elements for Electrocatalytic Nitrogen Reduction

“…In order to improve the conductivity, Fe 2 O 3 was hybridized with conductive carbons such as reduced graphene oxide (rGO), carbon nanotube (CNT), carbon cloth (CC), carbon fabric (CF) etc. [ 135–139 ] Interestingly, Fe 2 O 3 and Fe 3 O 4 grown on rGO have exhibited better efficiency compared to bare iron oxides. Fe 2 O 3 ‐rGO and rGO/Fe/Fe 3 O 4 displayed efficiency of 5.89 and 6.26%, respectively.…”

Recent Advances in Noble‐Metal‐Free Catalysts for Electrocatalytic Synthesis of Ammonia under Ambient Conditions

“…The FE and NH 3 rate was 1.96% and 0.049 nmol h −1 cm −2 cat in the 0.1 M KOH electrolyte solution . Later, porous Fe 2 O 3 nanorods grown on carbon cloth (p‐Fe 2 O 3 /CC) and N‐doped carbon‐coated γ‐Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles supported on carbon fabric (γ‐Fe 2 O 3 −NC/CF) were fabricated. Furthermore, the γ‐Fe 2 O 3 −NC/CF manifested a high FE of 12.28% and a considerable ammonia yield of 11.7×10 −10 mol s −1 cm −2 .…”

Bismuth-Based Free-Standing Electrodes for Ambient-Condition Ammonia Production in Neutral Media

“…Ammonia (NH 3 ) is considered to be a promising hydrogen energy carrier to alleviate the fossil fuel shortage and global climate change, for its high energy density, high hydrogen content, no carbon footprint and being easy to liquefy [1][2][3]. To date, the dominant method for industrial-scale NH 3 synthesis still depends on the traditional Haber-Bosch process [4][5][6].…”