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.

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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

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article

Biomimetic Elastic Single‐Atom Protrusions Enhance Ammonia Electrosynthesis

Yuntong Sun, Wenjun Fan, Yin Huang, Fanglei Yao et al.
2 citations
Angewandte Chemie
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
0.21
article

Biomimetic Elastic Single‐Atom Protrusions Enhance Ammonia Electrosynthesis

Yuntong Sun, Wenjun Fan, Yin Huang, Fanglei Yao, Junwu Zhu, Jong‐Min Lee, Jin Wang
article en
2 citations

Abstract

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.

Angewandte ChemieVol. 137(6)
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)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 59%
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
0.21
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