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Electrocatalysis of N2 to NH3 by HKUST-1 with High NH3 Yield
Yueming Cao1, Peipei Li1, Tengteng Wu1
1Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Traditional Chinese Medicine Research (Ministry of Education) College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410081, China.
Abstract:
Electrolytic ammonia synthesis from nitrogen at ambient conditions is appearing as a promising alternative to the Haber-Bosch process which is consuming high energy and emitting CO2 . Here, a typical MOF material, HKUST-1 (Cu-BTC, BTC=benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate), was selected as an electrocatalyst for the reaction of converting N2 to NH3 under ambient conditions. At -0.75 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode, it achieves excellent catalytic performance in the electrochemical synthesis of ammonia with high NH3 yield (46.63 μg h-1 mg-1 cat. or 4.66 μg h-1 cm-2 ) and good Faraday efficiency (2.45%). It is indicated that the good performance of the HKUST-1 catalyst may originate from the formation of Cu(I). In addition, the catalyst also has good selectivity for N2 to NH3 .
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