Electrocatalytic reduction of N2 to NH3 by MIL-88-derived pod-like Fe7Se8/C nanomaterials under ambient conditions†

Abstract

In this paper, pod-like Fe₇Se₈/C nanocomposite catalyst materials were prepared by MIL-88 selenide annealing and the as-prepared Fe₇Se₈/C nanocatalyst exhibited excellent electrocatalytic performance in neutral electrolyte for the electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (eNRR). The average ammonia yield rate was 7.11 μg h⁻¹ mg_cat⁻¹ with a corresponding faradaic efficiency (FE) of 10.44% obtained at the optimum potential of −0.3 V. Moreover, the as-prepared Fe₇Se₈/C electrocatalyst shows good selectivity and stability for the eNRR.