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Published on: December 6, 2021
Nanoporous B13 C2 towards Highly Efficient Electrochemical Nitrogen Fixation.
Jiao Lan1, Min Luo2, Jiuhui Han3
1College of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Design and Manufacturing for Vehicle Body, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, 410082, China.
A novel nanoporous boron carbide catalyst enables efficient electrochemical nitrogen fixation and oxidation under mild conditions. This breakthrough offers a sustainable alternative to traditional industrial methods, demonstrating high ammonia and nitrate yields with excellent stability.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Catalysis
Background:
- The Haber-Bosch process for ammonia production is energy-intensive and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
- Electrochemical nitrogen fixation offers a sustainable, low-energy alternative under ambient conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and characterize a novel nanoporous boron carbide (np-B13C2) catalyst for electrochemical nitrogen fixation and oxidation.
- To investigate the catalytic performance and underlying mechanisms of np-B13C2 for nitrogen conversion.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of np-B13C2 via metallurgical alloy design and chemical etching.
- Electrochemical characterization including ammonia and nitrate yield measurements.
- In situ Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to elucidate reaction mechanisms.
Main Results:
- np-B13C2 achieved a high ammonia yield of 91.28 µg h⁻¹ mgcat.⁻¹ and Faradaic efficiency of 35.53% at -0.05 V for NRR.
- The catalyst demonstrated long-term stability (up to 70 h) and high nitrate yield (165.8 µg h⁻¹ mgcat.⁻¹) with 8.4% FE for NOR.
- DFT calculations and in situ Raman spectroscopy revealed that B-C coupling in B13C2 modulates electronic structures, facilitating N2 adsorption and activation.
Conclusions:
- np-B13C2 is a highly active and stable electrocatalyst for both nitrogen reduction and oxidation reactions.
- The catalyst's performance is attributed to enhanced N2 adsorption and activation via modulated electronic structures at B sites.
- This work presents a promising pathway towards sustainable nitrogen fixation and value-added nitrogen compound production.
