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Shearing Sulfur Edges of VS2 Electrocatalyst Enhances its Nitrogen Reduction Performance
Liang Zhao1, Yuanyuan Xiong1, Xiaoxuan Wang1
1State Key Lab of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, P. R. China.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|January 10, 2022
Summary
Researchers developed a novel vanadium disulfide (VS₂) electrocatalyst by modifying its sulfur edges. This strategy effectively suppresses hydrogen evolution, enhancing electrochemical nitrogen fixation for ammonia production.
Area of Science:
- Electrochemistry
- Materials Science
- Catalysis
Background:
- Electrochemical nitrogen fixation is crucial for ammonia synthesis.
- Transition metal sulfides show promise but struggle with hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) suppression.
- Achieving high Faradaic efficiency (FE) in nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) remains challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design a vanadium disulfide (VS₂) electrocatalyst with enhanced NRR performance.
- To suppress the competing HER and improve FE.
- To understand the structure-activity relationship for NRR.
Main Methods:
- Vanadium disulfide (VS₂) was synthesized and treated via calcination at 350 °C to shear sulfur edges.
- Electrochemical NRR performance was evaluated, measuring ammonia yield and FE.
- Experimental and computational methods were used to analyze the catalyst's active sites and reaction mechanism.
Main Results:
- The VS₂-350 electrocatalyst achieved a maximum NH₃ yield of 20.29 µg h⁻¹ mg⁻¹ with an FE of 3.86%.
- This performance significantly surpassed untreated VS₂ (15.92 µg h⁻¹ mg⁻¹, FE 1.69%).
- Sheared S edges inhibited HER and exposed more V active sites, facilitating N₂ activation.
Conclusions:
- Partial shearing of S edges in VS₂ is an effective strategy to boost NRR performance.
- The modified VS₂-350 catalyst demonstrates improved selectivity and efficiency for ammonia synthesis.
- Understanding atomic site-dependent activity provides a pathway for designing advanced NRR electrocatalysts.
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