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Electrocatalytic NO Reduction to NH3 on Mo2C Nanosheets
Kai Chen1, Peng Shen1, Nana Zhang1
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
Inorganic Chemistry
|January 3, 2023
Summary
Molybdenum carbide (Mo2C) nanosheets efficiently convert harmful nitrogen oxides (NO) to ammonia (NH3) via electrocatalysis. This discovery offers a sustainable method for NO treatment and valuable ammonia production.
Area of Science:
- Electrochemistry
- Materials Science
- Catalysis
Background:
- Electrocatalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides (NO) to ammonia (NH3) presents a dual solution for environmental remediation and sustainable chemical synthesis.
- Developing efficient and selective electrocatalysts is crucial for advancing the nitrogen oxides reduction to ammonia (NORR) process.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate molybdenum carbide (Mo2C) as a novel electrocatalyst for the NORR reaction.
- To evaluate the activity and selectivity of Mo2C nanosheets for NO reduction to NH3.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of Mo2C nanosheets.
- Electrochemical characterization of Mo2C nanosheets for NORR.
- Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to elucidate the reaction mechanism.
Main Results:
- Mo2C nanosheets exhibited high catalytic activity for NORR, achieving an NH3 yield rate of 122.7 μmol h-1 cm-2.
- The catalyst demonstrated excellent selectivity, with a Faradaic efficiency of 86.3% for NH3 production at -0.4 V.
- Theoretical computations confirmed that Mo2C effectively activates NO and optimizes protonation energetics for selective NH3 formation.
Conclusions:
- Mo2C is a highly active and selective electrocatalyst for the reduction of NO to NH3.
- The unique electronic structure of surface-terminated Mo atoms in Mo2C is key to its superior NORR performance.
- This work highlights the potential of Mo2C-based materials for efficient environmental NO treatment and sustainable ammonia synthesis.
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