Dynamic Etching‐Induced Cl‐Terminated Ti <sub>3</sub> C <sub>2</sub> Cl <sub>x</sub> /Ti <sub>3</sub> ZnC <sub>2</sub> Heterostructure for Ammonia Electrosynthesis and Zinc‐Nitrogen Batteries
2D Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<sub>x</sub> MXenes are of great potential in catalysis, energy storage, and conversion, yet the controlled tuning of their structure, intrinsic activity, and stability remains a challenge. Herein, we address this challenge through a dual-modification strategy, synthesizing a Cl-terminated MXene/MAX (Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>Cl<sub>x</sub>/Ti<sub>3</sub>ZnC<sub>2</sub>) heterostructure by a dynamic etching approach for efficient electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR). This catalyst achieves an NH<sub>3</sub> yield of 20.1 µg h<sup>-1</sup> mg<sup>-1</sup> and a Faradaic efficiency of 38.1% at -0.2 V vs. RHE in 0.1 m KOH electrolyte, with high stability for over 70 h, positioning it among the top-performing MXene-based NRR electrocatalysts. Experimental and theoretical analyses demonstrate that the Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>Cl<sub>x</sub>/Ti<sub>3</sub>ZnC<sub>2</sub> heterostructure modulates the electronic structure of Ti sites, thus optimizing the intermediate adsorption and reducing the energy barrier of *NH<sub>2</sub> → NH<sub>3</sub> conversion in the distal pathway to 0.7 eV. The Zn-N<sub>2</sub> battery assembled with Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>Cl<sub>x</sub>/Ti<sub>3</sub>ZnC<sub>2</sub> can reach a peak power density of 36.5 µW cm<sup>-2</sup>, with an NH<sub>3</sub> yield of 13.1 µg h<sup>-1</sup> mg<sup>-1</sup>. This study has demonstrated that the dual modification strategy involving surface terminations regulation and heterostructure construction is effective to improve both NRR activity and stability of MXene-based electrocatalysts, which is crucial for efficient NH<sub>3</sub> production and energy generation. This improvement paves the way for efficient ammonia and energy co-generation, providing a viable materials design strategy and deeper mechanistic insights.
Authors
- Chang Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3359-1970)
- Jichi Liu
- Fengzhan Sun
- F. C.
- Liqun Ye
- Jieshan Qiu
- Hui Li
- Yu Wang
- Tianyi Ma
- Yang Fu
Institutions
- Liaoning University (CN)
- China Three Gorges University (CN)
- Dalian University (CN)
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies (AU)
- Nanomaterials Research (United States) (US)
- Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (CN)
- Beijing University of Chemical Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Science
- Published
- 2026-02-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202524280
- Primary Topic
- Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Australian Government
- European Commission
- RMIT University
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Cooperative Research Centres, Australian Government Department of Industry
- Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province
- Higher Education Discipline Innovation Project