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

Electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) has emerged as a promising sustainable approach for ambient-condition ammonia synthesis. Extensive studies have identified Ti³⁺ as the predominant active site that facilitates NRR by lowering activation barriers and enhancing N₂ chemisorption, which accounts for the remarkable catalytic performance of Ti₂O₃. The incorporation of molybdenum (Mo), a key component of nitrogenase active centers, has been shown to further improve NRR efficiency through its dual functionality in simultaneously activating and stabilizing the reaction intermediate. In this work, we report Mo-doped Ti₂O₃ nanoparticles that demonstrate superior NRR performance, achieving an ammonia yield of 30.84 μg h^-1 mg_cat^-1 with a faradaic efficiency of 29.8%. These findings provide fundamental insights into the design principles of high-efficiency NRR catalysts and represent a significant advancement toward sustainable ammonia production technologies.