Self-supported V-doped NiO electrocatalyst achieving a high ammonia yield of 30.55 g h cm under ambient conditions

To date, lots of efforts have been devoted to exploring an efficient route for N 2 fixation under ambient conditions. However, due to the high bond energy of the strong N&z.tbd;N triple bond, it is still restricted by low NH 3 yield and conversion efficiency. Based on a previous concept of using carbohydrates as an accessory ingredient to form hollow metal oxides, here, we report V-doped NiO self-supported on nickel foam as an excellent NRR catalyst. Using glucose as a dispersant to disperse the surface of V-doped NiO, V/NiO with a disordered morphology reaches its highest NH 3 yield rate of 30.55 μg h −1 cm −2 at −0.3 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and achieves a high faradaic efficiency (FE) of 11% at −0.1 V vs. RHE in 0.1 M KOH. Compared to NiO (5.32 μg h −1 cm −2 ), V/NiO shows significantly improved NRR performance. Further, using 15 N 2 as a supply gas gives strong evidence for the accurate detection of the generated NH 3 of V/NiO and N 2 -TPD shows that V/NiO has stronger binding strength towards N 2 , resulting in a splendid NH 3 yield rate. Vanadium doped nickel oxide grows on nickel foam exhibits a splendid NH 3 yield and a high faradaic efficiency.