Tuning oxygen vacancies on Bi2MoO6 surface for efficient electrocatalytic N2 reduction reaction

Abstract

Electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) is a green and environmentally friendly ammonia production method, which is expected to replace the conventional Haber-Bosch process. In this paper, a Bi2MoO6 electrocatalyst with abundant oxygen vacancies was obtained by solvothermal method and sodium hydroxide etching treatment. The introduction of oxygen vacancies increased the active site of the catalyst and promoted the charge transfer and N2 adsorption, which finally significantly increased the activity of the catalyst. In 0.1 M Na2SO4 solution at a potential of -0.2 V (vs. RHE), the Bi2MoO6 with oxygen vacancies obtained an excellent Faradaic efficiency of 16.51% and an NH3 yield of 13.18 μg h−1 mg−1, which is about 4 times that of bare Bi2MoO6. This study provides a new idea to improve the activity of the catalyst for NRR.