Electrocatalytic Synthesis of Ammonia Using a 2D Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub> MXene Loaded with Copper Nanoparticles
Anmin Liu, Xingyou Liang, Qiyue Yang, Xuefeng Ren, Mengfan Gao, Yanan Yang, Tingli Ma
Abstract
Abstract As an energy‐saving and environmentally friendly ammonia synthesis method, electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) has received a great deal of attention. There is thus an urgent need to find high‐efficiency electrocatalysts for the NRR. In this work, a Cu/Ti 3 C 2 composite catalyst was prepared and demonstrated excellent selectivity under environmental conditions, which could efficiently convert N 2 into NH 3 electrochemically. In 0.1 M KOH, Cu/Ti 3 C 2 can achieve a high Faradaic efficiency of 7.31 % and a high NH 3 production rate of 3.04 μmol h −1 cm −2 at −0.5 V vs . RHE. Moreover, the material also exhibits superior electrochemical stability and durability. At the same time, density functional theory (DFT) shows that, compared with Ti 3 C 2 , Cu/Ti 3 C 2 exhibits a wider conduction and valence band and a larger Fermi level, thus indicating that Cu plays a vital role in the enhancement of the catalytic activity and conductivity of Ti 3 C 2 ‐based materials. This work provides a feasible strategy for designing high‐efficiency MXene‐based NRR electrocatalysts.