Amorphous/Crystalline Hetero-Phase TiO₂ -Coated α-Fe₂ O₃ Core-Shell Nanospindles: A High-Performance Artificial...

Electrochemical nitrogen fixation techniques have emerged as a promisingly sustainable approach to face the challenge associated with nitrogen activation of ammonia synthesis by the Haber-Bosch process under ambient conditions. Herein, the performance of electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction for the production of α-Fe₂ O₃ nanospindles coated with mesoporous TiO₂ with different crystallinity [denoted as α-Fe₂ O₃ @mTiO₂ -X (X=300, 400, and 500 °C)] were investigated. The as-prepared α-Fe₂ O₃ @mTiO₂ -400 composite exhibits a large NH₃ yield (27.2 μg h^-1  mg_cat. ^-1 ) at -0. 5 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode and a high Faradaic efficiency (13.3 %) in 0.1 m Na₂ SO₄ , with excellent electrochemical durability. This work presents a novel avenue for the rational design of efficient unique hetero-phase nanocatalysts toward sustainable electrocatalytic N₂ fixation.