Ambient Electrochemical Synthesis of Ammonia from Nitrogen and Water Catalyzed by Flower-Like Gold Microstructures

Electrochemical nitrogen reduction to ammonia is proposed as a promising alternative to the Haber-Bosch process because it can be driven by renewable electricity at ambient conditions. Currently, the development of such a process is hampered by the lack of efficient electrocatalysts for the nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR). Herein, we report a super-rapid approach for the synthesis of flower-like Au microstructures (Au flowers) within 5 s. The obtained Au structures are assembled by staggered nanoplates as building blocks, which provide abundant electrocatalytically active sites for the NRR. The Au flowers achieve a high performance (NH3 yield: 25.57 mu h(-1)mg(cat.)(-1); faradaic efficiency: 6.05%), 100% selectivity (no N2H4 production), and long-term durability toward the electrochemical ammonia production. The work is highly valuable for the rapid synthesis of active catalysts for the NRR.