Ultrasmall VC nanoparticles embedded in conductive carbon for efficient electrocatalytic N reduction toward ambient NH production

As a carbon-neutral alternative to the Haber-Bosch process, electrochemical N 2 reduction offers an eco-friendly and sustainable approach to produce NH 3 , but it needs active electrocatalysts for the N 2 reduction reaction (NRR). In this communication, we report that vanadium carbide nanoparticles/carbon sphere (V 8 C 7 /C) acts as a high-performance NRR electrocatalyst under ambient conditions. In 0.1 M HCl, such V 8 C 7 /C achieves a large NH 3 yield of 34.62 μg h −1 mg cat. −1 and a high faradaic efficiency of 12.20% at −0.40 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode. Notably, V 8 C 7 /C also shows both strong electrochemical stability and high NH 3 selectivity. Vanadium carbide nanoparticles/carbon acts as an efficient NRR electrocatalyst in 0.1 M HCl, achieving a large NH 3 yield of 34.62 μg h −1 mg cat. −1 and a high FE of 12.20%.