Accelerating the electron-transfer of nitrogen electro-fixation through assembling Fe nanoparticles into Fe nanochains

Abstract

Electrochemically synthesizing NH₃via N₂ is a facile and sustainable approach that involves multistep electron and proton transfer processes. Thus, consecutive electron and proton transfer is necessary. Here, a universal method with the assistance of magnetic stirring that can assemble Fe, Co, and Ni nanoparticles into nanochains is developed. Notably, the Fe nanochain, composed of amorphous Fe nanoparticles, facilitates electron and proton transfer, resulting in an enhanced NH₃ yield (92.42 μg h⁻¹ mg⁻¹) and faradaic efficiency (20.02%) at −0.4 V vs. RHE during the electrochemical reduction of N₂. This work offers new insight into designing tandem electrocatalysts.