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NH2–MIL-88B–Fe for electrocatalytic N2 fixation to NH3 with high Faradaic efficiency under ambient conditions in neutral electrolyte

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Abstract

The global NH3 production is dominated by Haber–Bosch process, requiring high temperature and pressure. Electrochemical N2 reduction reaction (NRR) under ambient conditions is a greener path for artificial N2 fixation to NH3 but calling for efficient catalyst to increase activity and selectivity. Herein, we report the iron-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), i.e., MIL-88B–Fe and amine-functionalized MIL-88B–Fe (NH2–MIL-88B–Fe) as efficient catalysts for electrochemical NRR under ambient temperature and pressure in neutral electrolyte. NH2–MIL-88B–Fe shows higher NH3 yield rate of 1.205 × 10–10 mol s−1 cm−2 than MIL-88B–Fe (3.575 × 10–11 mol s−1 cm−2). Furthermore, NH2–MIL-88B–Fe exhibits the highest Faradaic efficiency of 12.45% at 0.05 V versus RHE. The control experiments prove that NH3 is produced through electrocatalytic NRR. This work may trigger the interest of using MOFs as highly efficient catalysts for electrochemical NH3 production.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21706010), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (BK20161200). Special thanks to the support from Advanced Catalysis and Green Manufacturing Collaborative Innovation Center, Changzhou University (ACGM2016-06-02 and ACGM2016-06-03), A Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD) and Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety, Ministry of Education (ARES-2018-09).

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  1. Xuerui Yi and Xiaobo He have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Catalytic Materials and Technology, School of Petrochemical Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou, 213164, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaobo He, Fengxiang Yin, Biaohua Chen & Guoru Li

  2. College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, People’s Republic of China

    Xuerui Yi & Tong Yang

  3. Changzhou Institute of Advanced Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Changzhou, 213164, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaobo He

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  1. Xuerui Yi
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Yi, X., He, X., Yin, F. et al. NH2–MIL-88B–Fe for electrocatalytic N2 fixation to NH3 with high Faradaic efficiency under ambient conditions in neutral electrolyte. J Mater Sci 55, 12041–12052 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-04777-2

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