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Co3(hexahydroxytriphenylene)2: A conductive metal—organic framework for ambient electrocatalytic N2 reduction to NH3

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Abstract

As a carbon-neutral alternative to the Haber-Bosch process, electrochemical N2 reduction enables environment-friendly NH3 synthesis at ambient conditions but needs active electrocatalysts for the N2 reduction reaction. Here, we report that conductive metal—organic framework Co3(hexahydroxytriphenylene)2 (Co3HHTP2) nanoparticles act as an efficient catalyst for ambient electrochemical N2-to-NH3 fixation. When tested in 0.5 M LiClO4, such Co3HHTP2 achieves a large NH3 yield of 22.14 µg·h−1mg−1cat. with a faradaic efficiency of 3.34% at −0.40 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode. This catalyst also shows high electrochemical stability and excellent selectivity toward NH3 synthesis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science, Xihua University, Chengdu, 610039, China

    Wei Xiong, Xin Cheng, Jing Feng, Wei Li & Zhenju Jiang

  2. Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, China

    Ting Wang, Yongsong Luo & Xuping Sun

  3. Green Catalysis Center and College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China

    Siyu Lu

  4. Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science & Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials Research, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia

    Abdullah M. Asiri

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  1. Wei Xiong
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  2. Xin Cheng
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  3. Ting Wang
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Correspondence to Wei Li, Zhenju Jiang or Xuping Sun.

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Xiong, W., Cheng, X., Wang, T. et al. Co3(hexahydroxytriphenylene)2: A conductive metal—organic framework for ambient electrocatalytic N2 reduction to NH3. Nano Res. 13, 1008–1012 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-2733-9

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