Ammonia Synthesis Under Ambient Conditions: Selective Electroreduction of Dinitrogen to Ammonia on Black Phosphorus Nanosheets

Abstract

Constructing efficient catalysts for the N 2 reduction reaction (NRR) is a major challenge for artificial nitrogen fixation under ambient conditions. Herein, inspired by the principle of “like dissolves like”, it is demonstrated that a member of the nitrogen family, well‐exfoliated few‐layer black phosphorus nanosheets (FL‐BP NSs), can be used as an efficient nonmetallic catalyst for electrochemical nitrogen reduction. The catalyst can achieve a high ammonia yield of 31.37 μg h−1 mg−1cat. under ambient conditions. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the active orbital and electrons of zigzag and diff‐zigzag type edges of FL‐BP NSs enable selective electrocatalysis of N 2 to NH 3 via an alternating hydrogenation pathway. This work proves the feasibility of using a nonmetallic simple substance as a nitrogen‐fixing catalyst and thus opening a new avenue towards the development of more efficient metal‐free catalysts.