Oxygen vacancies-rich Cu-W18O49 nanorods supported on reduced graphene oxide for electrochemical reduction of N2 to NH3

High-performance nitrogen fixation is severely limited by the efficiency and selectivity of a catalyst of electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) under ambient conditions. Here, the RGO/WOCu (reduced graphene oxide and Cu-doping W18O49) composite catalysts with abundant oxygen vacancies are prepared by the hydrothermal method. The obtained RGO/WOCu achieves an enhanced NRR performance (NH3 yield rate:11.4 mu g h-1 mgcat -1 , Faradaic efficiency: 4.4%) at -0.6 V (vs. RHE) in 0.1 mol L-1 Na2SO4 solution. Furthermore, the NRR performance of the RGO/WOCu still keeps at 95% after four cycles, demonstrating its excellent stability. The Cu+-doping increases the concentration of oxygen vacancies, which is conducive to the adsorption and activation of N2. Meanwhile, the introduction of RGO further improves the electrical conductivity and reaction kinetics of the RGO/WOCu due to the high specific surface area and conductivity. This work provides a simple and effective method for efficient electrochemical reduction of N2.

Automated summary

In this study, RGO/WOCu composite catalysts with abundant oxygen vacancies were prepared by the hydrothermal method, which showed enhanced performance in electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) under ambient conditions.