Ru-doped, oxygen-vacancy-containing CeO nanorods toward N electroreduction

Electrochemical N 2 reduction (N 2 RR) in aqueous solutions under ambient conditions is extremely challenging; thus, a rational design of electrocatalytic centers is required to effectively adsorb and activate N 2 . Herein, we report Ru cluster-doped, oxygen vacancy-rich CeO 2 (Ru/CeO 2 -V O ) nanorods as an efficient N 2 reduction electrocatalyst. The high-density oxygen vacancies inside CeO 2 are beneficial for the adsorption of N 2 , and the unsaturated, low-valence Ru nanoclusters provide active sites for N 2 activation and subsequent electron transfer for N 2 reduction. The Ru/CeO 2 -V O catalyst exhibits a high ammonia production rate of 9.87 × 10 −8 mmol s −1 cm −2 and a partial current density of 32 μA cm −2 at −0.25 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode in 0.05 M H 2 SO 4 solution, corresponding to a faradaic efficiency of 11.7%. Our work suggests that the synergistic effects between Ru nanoclusters and oxygen vacancies in CeO 2 for efficient N 2 fixation. Ru cluster-doped, oxygen vacancy-rich CeO 2 (Ru/CeO 2 -V O ) nanorods were developed as an efficient N 2 reduction electrocatalyst, which were beneficial for N 2 adsorption and activation.