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Indexed by:Journal Papers

Date of Publication:2020-03-14

Journal:NANOSCALE

Included Journals:SCIE

Volume:12

Issue:10

Page Number:6029-6036

ISSN No.:2040-3364

Abstract:Transition metal chalcogenide MoS2 catalysts are highly selective for the electrochemical reduction of dinitrogen (N-2) to ammonia (NH3) in aqueous electrolytes. However, due to the low solubility of N-2 in water, limited N-2 diffusion and mass transport have heavily restricted the yield and the faradaic efficiency (FE). Here, we have demonstrated a highly efficacious assembled gas diffusion cathode with hollow Co-MoS2/N@C nanostructures to significantly improve the electrochemical reduction of N-2 to NH3. Our results revealed that the synthesized Co-MoS2 heterojunctions with abundant graphitic N groups exhibited a superb NH3 yield of 129.93 mu g h(-1) mg(cat)(-1) and a high faradaic efficiency of 11.21% at -0.4 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), as well as excellent selectivity and stability. The strategy described in this study offers new inspiration to design high-performance electrocatalyst assemblies for the sustainable environmental and energy applications.