In Situ Growth of Nitrogen-Doped Carbon-Coated gamma-Fe2O3 Nanoparticles on Carbon Fabric for Electrochemical N-2 Fixation

摘要

( )Although electrocatalytic N-2 fixation has been regarded as a promising alternative strategy to the current Haber-Bosch technique for ammonia synthesis, it still remains a great challenge to develop low-cost and high-efficiency eletrocatalysts with high catalytic activity and good selectivity. Here, we report the fabrication of a free-standing 3D hybrid electrode by in situ growth of N-doped carbon-coated gamma-Fe2O3 nanoparticles supported on carbon fabric (gamma-Fe2O3-NC/CF), which manifests a high Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 12.28% and a considerable ammonia yield of 11.7 x 10(-10) mol s(-1) cm(-2). Systematic characterization coupled with comprehensive electrochemical studies imply that the cation vacancies on the surface of gamma-Fe2O3-NC/CF generated during the electrochemical activation process majorly contribute to the enhanced electrocatalytic activity for the nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR).