A Pd/MnO2 electrocatalyst for nitrogen reduction to ammonia under ambient conditions

Abstract

Electrochemical ammonia synthesis, which is an alternative approach to the Haber–Bosch process, has attracted the attention of researchers because of its advantages including mild working conditions, environmental protection, and simple process. However, the biggest problem in this field is the lack of high-performance catalysts. Here, we report high-efficiency electroreduction of N2 to NH3 on γ-MnO2-supported Pd nanoparticles (Pd/γ-MnO2) under ambient conditions, which exhibits excellent catalytic activity with an NH3 yield rate of 19.72 µg·mg−1Pd h−1 and a Faradaic efficiency of 8.4% at −0.05 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization shows that Pd nanoparticles are homogeneously dispersed on the γ-MnO2. Pd/γ-MnO2 outperforms other catalysts including Pd/C and γ-MnO2 because of its synergistic catalytic effect between Pd and Mn.