Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 12, 2025

Synthesis and Performance Characterizations of Transition Metal Single Atom Catalyst for Electrochemical CO2 Reduction
Published on: April 10, 2018
Efficient electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction to ammonia with aqueous silver nanodots
Wenyi Li1,2, Ke Li1, Yixing Ye1
1Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Centre for Environmental and Energy Nanomaterials, Anhui Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Institute of Solid State Physics, HFIPS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, 230031, China.
Abstract:
The electrocatalytic nitrogen (N2) reduction reaction (NRR) relies on the development of highly efficient electrocatalysts and electrocatalysis systems. Herein, we report a non-loading electrocatalysis system, where the electrocatalysts are dispersed in aqueous solution rather than loading them on electrode substrates. The system consists of aqueous Ag nanodots (AgNDs) as the catalyst and metallic titanium (Ti) mesh as the current collector for electrocatalytic NRR. The as-synthesized AgNDs, homogeneously dispersed in 0.1 M Na2SO4 solution (pH = 10.5), can achieve an NH3 yield rate of 600.4 ± 23.0 μg h-1 mgAg-1 with a faradaic efficiency (FE) of 10.1 ± 0.7% at -0.25 V (vs. RHE). The FE can be further improved to be 20.1 ± 0.9% at the same potential by using Ti mesh modified with oxygen vacancy-rich TiO2 nanosheets as the current collector. Utilizing the aqueous AgNDs catalyst, a Ti plate based two-electrode configured flow-type electrochemical reactor was developed to achieve an NH3 yield rate of 804.5 ± 30.6 μg h-1 mgAg-1 with a FE of 8.2 ± 0.5% at a voltage of -1.8 V. The designed non-loading electrocatalysis system takes full advantage of the AgNDs' active sites for N2 adsorption and activation, following an alternative hydrogenation mechanism revealed by theoretical calculations.
More Related Videos
08:40Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles Supported on Carbon Nanotube with Doped Co and N Atoms and its Catalytic Applications in Hydrogen Production
Published on: December 6, 2021
07:58Bio-inspired Polydopamine Surface Modification of Nanodiamonds and Its Reduction of Silver Nanoparticles
Published on: November 14, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Preparation of Amines: Reduction of Oximes and Nitro Compounds
Though catalytic hydrogenation can reduce nitrobenzenes, the reduction is nonselective in the presence of other functional groups. For instance, if nitrobenzene contains an aldehyde group,...
Preparation of Amines: Reduction of Amides and Nitriles
Amides can be reduced to primary, secondary, and tertiary amines using catalytic hydrogenation, active metals like Fe,...
Nitriles to Amines: LiAlH4 Reduction
As shown below, the mechanism involves three steps. Firstly, the hydride ion acting as a nucleophile attacks the nitrile carbon to form an anion. In the second step, a second equivalent of the hydride ion attacks the anion to...
Reduction of Alkynes to trans-Alkenes: Sodium in Liquid Ammonia
When dissolved in liquid ammonia, an alkali metal,...