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A Review of Composite/Hybrid Electrocatalysts and Photocatalysts for Nitrogen Reduction Reactions: Advanced Materials, Mechanisms, Challenges and Perspectives

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Abstract

The electrochemical reduction of nitrogen to produce ammonia using sustainable and “green” materials and electricity has proven to be not only feasible, but promising. However, low catalytic activity and stability as well as poor product selectivity have hindered practical application. To address this, this review will provide a comprehensive presentation of the latest progress in the experimental investigation and fundamental understanding of nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) for the production of ammonia as catalyzed by electrocatalysts and photocatalysts. In particular, the design, synthesis, characterization and performance validation of these catalysts are classified and analyzed in terms of their catalytic activity, stability and selectivity toward ammonia production. Reviewed electrocatalysts include metal/carbon, metal/metal oxide and metal oxide/carbon composites, and reviewed photocatalysts include semiconductor–semiconductor, semiconductor–metal, semiconductor–carbon and multicomponent heterojunctions. Furthermore, several challenges are discussed and possible research directions are proposed to facilitate further research and development to overcome the challenges in NRR toward practical application.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51602189, 51803116), the Shanghai Sailing Program (18YF1408600), the international fellowship for Ph.D. program of Shanghai University and financial support from Leoch International, the Xijiang talent program and the Zhaoqing Xijiang Talent Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Sustainable Energy, College of Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China

    Revanasiddappa Manjunatha, Minmin Liu, Zibo Zhai, Li Dong, Wei Yan & Jiujun Zhang

  2. Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal (CRPP), CNRS UMR 5031, Univ. Bordeaux, 115 Avenue du Docteur Schweitzer, 33600, Pessac, France

    Aleksandar Karajić

  3. University of Bordeaux, CNRS UMR 5255, Bordeaux INP, ENSCBP, 16 Avenue Pey-Berland, 33600, Pessac, France

    Aleksandar Karajić

  4. Zhaoqing Leoch Battery Technology Co. Ltd., Zhaoqing, 518000, Guangdong, China

    Revanasiddappa Manjunatha & Li Dong

  5. Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    David P. Wilkinson

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  1. Revanasiddappa Manjunatha
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  2. Aleksandar Karajić
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  3. Minmin Liu
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  4. Zibo Zhai
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  5. Li Dong
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  6. Wei Yan
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  7. David P. Wilkinson
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  8. Jiujun Zhang
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Correspondence to Wei Yan or Jiujun Zhang.

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Manjunatha, R., Karajić, A., Liu, M. et al. A Review of Composite/Hybrid Electrocatalysts and Photocatalysts for Nitrogen Reduction Reactions: Advanced Materials, Mechanisms, Challenges and Perspectives. Electrochem. Energ. Rev. 3, 506–540 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41918-020-00069-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41918-020-00069-0

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