Co3(hexahydroxytriphenylene)2: A conductive metal—organic framework for ambient electrocatalytic N2 reduction to NH3

As a carbon-neutral alternative to the Haber-Bosch process, electrochemical N 2 reduction enables environment-friendly NH 3 synthesis at ambient conditions but needs active electrocatalysts for the N 2 reduction reaction. Here, we report that conductive metal—organic framework Co 3 (hexahydroxytriphenylene) 2 (Co 3 HHTP 2 ) nanoparticles act as an efficient catalyst for ambient electrochemical N 2 -to-NH 3 fixation. When tested in 0.5 M LiClO 4 , such Co 3 HHTP 2 achieves a large NH 3 yield of 22.14 µg·h −1 mg −1 cat. with a faradaic efficiency of 3.34% at −0.40 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode. This catalyst also shows high electrochemical stability and excellent selectivity toward NH 3 synthesis.