Mo-doped Ti₂O₃ nanoparticles for efficient electrocatalytic ammonia synthesis at ambient conditions

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) offers a sustainable route for ammonia synthesis at ambient conditions.
• Ti3+ sites in Ti2O3 are known active sites for NRR, enhancing N2 chemisorption and lowering activation energy.
• Molybdenum (Mo) incorporation can further boost NRR efficiency by activating intermediates and stabilizing reaction pathways.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of molybdenum doping on Ti2O3 nanoparticles for electrocatalytic NRR.
• To achieve enhanced ammonia yield and faradaic efficiency through catalyst design.
• To provide insights into designing high-performance NRR catalysts.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of molybdenum-doped Ti2O3 nanoparticles.
• Electrocatalytic evaluation of the synthesized materials for NRR.
• Characterization of catalyst performance, including ammonia yield and faradaic efficiency.

Main Results:

• Mo-doped Ti2O3 nanoparticles exhibited superior NRR performance.
• Achieved an ammonia yield of 30.84 μg h-1 mgcat-1.
• Attained a faradaic efficiency of 29.8% for ammonia synthesis.

Conclusions:

• Molybdenum doping significantly enhances the electrocatalytic activity of Ti2O3 for NRR.
• The developed catalyst represents a substantial step towards efficient and sustainable ammonia production.
• Fundamental understanding of Mo-Ti2O3 interactions provides a basis for future catalyst design.