Enhancing interfacial electric field in WO3-C3N4 through fermi level modulation for electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction

Abstract

The electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (ENRR) has been identified as a promising method for environmentally friendly NH3 production under ambient conditions. The interfacial electric field has been found to hold significant potential for enhancing ENRR performance. The as-prepared WO3-C3N4-R catalyst exhibited a promising NH3 yield of 43.5 µg h−1 mgcat−1 and a high FE of 11.2 % in 0.1 M Li2SO4. DFT calculations indicate that the enlarged Fermi level can induce more electrons transfer from WO3 to C3N4 to form a strong interfacial electric field. In situ Raman and FTIR spectra demonstrate that the engineered intensified interfacial electric field in WO3-C3N4-R can enhance the adsorption of N2 molecules by forming strong W-N bonds and the polarization of NN bond through an "acceptance-donation" mechanism, resulting in a promoted ENRR kinetics. This work demonstrates a novel strategy to design NERR catalysts and provides insights into the effects of interfacial electric field on NERR.