Biomimetic Elastic Single‐Atom Protrusions Enhance Ammonia Electrosynthesis
Abstract Electrocatalytic nitrogen (N 2 ) reduction reaction (eNRR) is a promising route for sustainable ammonia (NH 3 ) generation, but the eNRR efficiency is dramatically impeded by sluggish reaction kinetics. Herein, inspired by the dynamic extension‐contraction of sea anemone tentacles in response to environmental changes, we propose a biomimetic elastic Mo single‐atom protrusion on vanadium oxide support (pSA Mo/VOH) electrocatalyst featuring a symmetry‐breaking Mo site and an elastic Mo−O 4 pyramid for efficient eNRR. In situ spectroscopy and theoretical calculations reveal that the protruding Mo‐induced symmetry‐breaking structure optimizes the d‐electron filling of Mo, enhancing the back‐donation to the π* antibonding orbital, effectively polarizing the N≡N bond and reducing the barrier from *N 2 to *N 2 H. Notably, the elastic Mo−O 4 pyramidal structure of pSA Mo provides a dynamic Mo−O microenvironment during continuous eNRR processes. This optimizes the electronic structure of the Mo sites based on different reaction intermediates, enhancing the adsorption of various N intermediates and maintaining low barriers throughout the six‐step hydrogenation process. Consequently, the elastic pSA Mo/VOH exhibits an excellent NH 3 yield rate of 50.71±1.12 μg h −1 mg −1 and a Faradaic efficiency of 35.38±1.03 %, outperforming most electrocatalysts.
Authors
- Yuntong Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8402-1770)
- Wenjun Fan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7397-658X)
- Yin Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1163-5058)
- Fanglei Yao
- Junwu Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7518-9683)
- Jong‐Min Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6300-0866)
- Jin Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3427-191X)
Institutions
- Huaibei Normal University (CN)
- Nanyang Technological University (SG)
- Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Nanjing University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté (FR)
- Jiangyin Traffic Planning Survey & Design Institute (China) (CN)
- Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy (CN)
- State Key Laboratory of Catalysis
- Anhui Normal University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie
- Published
- 2024-11-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.202418095
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.21
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China