Synergistic Enhancement of Electrocatalytic Nitrogen Reduction Over Boron Nitride Quantum Dots Decorated Nb<sub>2</sub>CT<i><sub>x</sub></i>‐MXene
Ke Chu, Xingchuan Li, Qingqing Li, Yali Guo, Hu Zhang
Abstract
Abstract Electrochemical N 2 fixation represents a promising strategy toward sustainable NH 3 synthesis, whereas the rational design of high‐performance catalysts for the nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) is urgently required but remains challenging. Herein, a novel hexagonal BN quantum dots (BNQDs) decorated Nb 2 CT x – MXene (BNQDs@Nb 2 CT x ) is explored as an efficient NRR catalyst. BNQDs@Nb 2 CT x presents the optimum NRR activity with an NH 3 yield rate of 66.3 µg h −1 mg −1 (−0.4 V) and a Faradaic efficiency of 16.7% (−0.3 V), outperforming most of the state‐of‐the‐art NRR catalysts, together with an excellent stability. Theoretical calculations revealed that the synergistic interplay of BNQDs and Nb 2 CT x enabled the creation of unique interfacial B sites serving as NRR catalytic centers capable of enhancing the N 2 activation, lowering the reaction energy barrier and impeding the H 2 evolution.