Ambient N2 Reduction to NH3 Electrocatalyzed by Nitrogen-Doped Carbon-Supported CoP Nanomaterials

At present, more than 80% of ammonia is obtained by the Haber-Bosch process with harsh reaction conditions and high energy consumption. Considering these energy consumption and gas emission problems, it is important to design an environmentally friendly and low-carbon ammonia synthesis method under mild conditions to enhance nitrogen fixation. Ammonia synthesis via an electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (eNRR) is deemed a promising alternative, but stable and efficient electrocatalysts are highly desired. Herein, nitrogen-doped carbon-supported CoP nanomaterials (CoP@NC) are successfully synthesized via a facile annealing method and used as an eNRR electrocatalyst. Among the as-prepared CoP@NC samples, CoP@NC-600 has the best electrocatalytic performance for eNRR, and the average NH3 yield rate of 7.56 μg h-1 mgcat-1 and Faraday efficiency (FE) of 9.32% are obtained at -0.4 V. Moreover, as-prepared CoP@NC has excellent stability and durability for eNRR.