Polyoxometalates-derived ternary metal oxides electrocatalyst for N2 reduction under ambient conditions

Accelerating the breaking of the nitrogen nonpolar bond (N≡N) is an important factor to improve the efficiency of the electro-catalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (e-NRR). In this work, polyoxometalates-derived FeMo-based ternary oxide materials MoO2-Mo4O11-FeMoO4@X (abbreviated as MoFeO@X, X represents the synthesis temperature of 650, 750 and 850 °C) were designed and synthesized for e-NRR under ambient conditions. The scanning electron microscopy images of MoFeO@750 show an ellipsoidal-like structure (0.86 × 0.6 μm). The relatively large specific surface area, formation of multiple interfaces, together with the synergistic effect of iron and molybdenum bimetals, would make MoFeO@X catalyst more easily absorb and activate N2 in the e-NRR. Expectedly, the synthesized MoFeO@750 shows an optimal NH3 production rate of 16.57 μg·h−1·mgcat.−1 and Faradaic efficiency of 12.33% at − 0.3 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (νs. RHE), with outstanding electrochemical and structural stability.