Facile synthesis of Cu2SnS3 nanocrystals for efficient nitrogen reduction reaction
Xiuting He, Zeqing Ling, Xuanwu Peng, Xianghua Yang, Liang Ma, Shun Lu
Abstract
The conversion of naturally abundant nitrogen into ammonia in a sustainable way at room temperature would be an ideal alternative to the currently dominant Haber–Bosch process. However, the rational design and synthesis of efficient and stable noble-metal-free electrocatalysts for the nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) still represents a major challenge. Herein, novel Cu2SnS3 nanocrystals with a uniform nanostructure were prepared through a hydrothermal approach by tuning the heating time. Electrochemical measurements demonstrated that Cu2SnS3 synthesized by heating at 200 °C for 10 h achieved a faradaic efficiency for the NRR of 8.87 % and a NH3 yield of 8.22 μg h−1 mg cat−1 at −0.4 V in 0.1 M Na2SO4. These results suggest a feasible new route toward the rational design of NRR catalysts with high stability and selectivity for use in clean energy conversion.