Interface engineering of CoS/MoS2 heterostructure for the electrocatalytic reduction of N2 to NH3

As an environmentally friendly and sustainable method for ammonia synthesis, nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) by electrocatalysis possesses several advantages, including viability under mild conditions, abundant reaction raw materials and low energy consumption, and thus it is supposed to be a promising alternative to the traditional Haber-Bosch process. However, the stable N=N bonds in the nitrogen (N-2) and the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) put harsh requirements on catalysts. In this study, the CoS/MoS2 heterojunction catalyst where CoS nanoparticles are anchored on the MoS2 nanosheets is reported as a high-efficiency NRR catalyst. The catalysts have high NH3 yield (23.23 mu g h(-1) mg(cat.)(-1)), reasonable faradaic efficiency (FE, 12.63%) and long-term electrochemical stability under -0.45 V vs. RHE in 0.1 M Na2SO4 solution, whose performance is better than MoS2 and CoS. The TPV results show rapid interfacial electron transfer and good conductivity of the material, and the DFT calculation reveals that the CoS attached to the (100) plane effectively enhances N-2 adsorption and catalysis performance.

Automated summary

Electrocatalysis-based nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) offers a promising and sustainable alternative to the traditional Haber-Bosch process for environmentally friendly ammonia synthesis. In this study, a high-efficiency NRR catalyst, CoS/MoS2 heterojunction catalyst, was reported with high NH3 yield and good electrochemical stability.