Dendritic Cu: a high-efficiency electrocatalyst for N2 fixation to NH3 under ambient conditions

Abstract

The artificial N₂ fixation to NH₃ is dominated by the traditional Haber–Bosch process, which consumes large amounts of energy and natural gas with low energy efficiency and large amounts of CO₂ emissions. Electrochemical N₂ reduction is a promising and environmentally friendly route for artificial N₂-to-NH₃ fixation under milder conditions. Herein, we report that dendritic Cu acts as a highly active electrocatalyst to catalyze N₂ to NH₃ fixation under ambient conditions. When tested in 0.1 M HCl, such an electrocatalyst achieves a high faradaic efficiency of 15.12% and a large NH₃ yield rate of 25.63 μg h⁻¹ mg_cat.⁻¹ at −0.40 V versus a reversible hydrogen electrode. Notably, this catalyst shows high electrochemical stability and excellent selectivity toward NH₃ synthesis.