Cr3C2 Nanoparticle-Embedded Carbon Nanofiber for Artificial Synthesis of NH3 through N2 Fixation under Ambient Conditions

Guangsen Yu; Haoran Guo; Shanhu Liu; Liang Chen; Abdulmohsen Ali Alshehri; Khalid Ahmad Alzahrani; Feng Hao; Tingshuai Li

doi:10.1021/acsami.9b12675

Cr₃C₂ Nanoparticle-Embedded Carbon Nanofiber for Artificial Synthesis of NH₃ through N₂ Fixation under Ambient Conditions

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2019 Oct 2;11(39):35764-35769. doi: 10.1021/acsami.9b12675. Epub 2019 Sep 20.

Authors

Guangsen Yu¹, Haoran Guo¹, Shanhu Liu², Liang Chen³, Abdulmohsen Ali Alshehri⁴, Khalid Ahmad Alzahrani⁴, Feng Hao¹, Tingshuai Li¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Materials and Energy , University of Electronic Science and Technology of China , Chengdu 611731 , Sichuan , China.
² Henan Joint International Research Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering , Henan University , Kaifeng 475004 , Henan , China.
³ Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Ningbo 315201 , Zhejiang , China.
⁴ Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science , King Abdulaziz University , P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah 21589 , Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 31508929
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b12675

Abstract

Industrial production of NH₃ heavily depends on the conventional Haber-Bosch process under rigorous conditions with a large amount of energy consumption and carbon emissions. Electrocatalysis exhibits an intriguing prospect for the N₂ reduction reaction (NRR) at ambient conditions. In this case, a high-efficiency and low-cost catalyst is paramount. In this letter, Cr₃C₂ nanoparticles and carbon nanofiber composite (Cr₃C₂@CNF) are proposed as a noble-metal-free NRR electrocatalyst for converting N₂ to NH₃ with an excellent selectivity. The optimal Faradic efficiency and NH₃ yield rate achieved are as high as 8.6% and 23.9 μg h^-1 mg_cat.^-1 at -0.3 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode in 0.1 M HCl, respectively. Theoretical calculations show a low reaction barrier of merely 0.53 eV in the enzymatic route for this catalyst.

Keywords: Cr3C2@C nanofiber; density functional theory; electrocatalysis; electrospinning; nitrogen reduction reaction.