Electrospun TiC/C nanofibers for ambient electrocatalytic N2 reduction

Abstract

Electrochemical N₂ reduction offers an environmentally benign and sustainable approach for NH₃ synthesis under ambient conditions wherein a high-efficiency electrocatalyst is paramount. In this study, we report that TiC/C nanofibers act as an efficient one-dimensional electrocatalyst for N₂-to-NH₃ conversion. In 0.1 M HCl, such an electrocatalyst achieves a large NH₃ yield of 14.1 μg h⁻¹ mg⁻¹_cat. and a high faradaic efficiency of 5.8% at −0.5 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode. Notably, this electrocatalyst also shows both high electrochemical stability and structural stability during electrolysis. Density functional theory calculations further reveal that TiC can efficiently activate N₂ in an enzymatic route with a low energy barrier.