Plasma-etched Ti₂O₃ with oxygen vacancies for enhanced NH₃ electrosynthesis and Zn–N₂ batteries

The sustainable production of NH₃ through an ambient electrocatalytic N₂ reduction reaction (NRR) requires the ingenious design of efficient electrocatalysts. Herein, plasma-etched Ti₂O₃ with oxygen vacancies (OV-Ti₂O₃) is reported as an active and stable electrocatalyst for NRR. The resulting OV-Ti₂O₃ catalyst exhibits outstanding N₂ fixation performances in 0.1 M HCl with the maximum NH₃ yield and faradaic efficiency of up to 37.24 μg h⁻¹ mg_cat.⁻¹ and 19.29%, respectively. Additionally, a rechargeable aqueous Zn–N₂ battery with an OV-Ti₂O₃ cathode was assembled to deliver a power density of 1.02 mW cm⁻² and an NH₃ yield of 4.3 μg h⁻¹ mg_cat.⁻¹, outperforming reported Zn–N₂ batteries.