Implantation of iron into copper: an effective strategy for facilitating electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction

Electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (ENRR) arises as a potential substitute for the Haber-Bosch approach operated under harsh conditions. Despite numerous research studies on the ENRR, further progress encounters the bottleneck of tough dynamics due to the difficulties in nitrogen activation or protonation. To surmount the obstacle, a simple and effective strategy of iron surface implantation is recommended to modulate the electronic structure of copper electrodeposited on carbon paper for promoting the NRR activity. Owing to iron surface implantation, the Fe/Cu catalyst attains a NH₃ yield rate of 6.8 ± 0.4 μg/h/cm and a desirable Faradaic efficiency of 16.0 ± 1.1% in an alkaline electrolyte of 0.1 M KOH. The theoretical calculation results suggest that the implantation of iron can enhance nitrogen adsorption, weaken the N–N σ bond, and lower the energy barrier of the potential determining step to boost the NRR process. This work supplies a new route on designing efficient catalysts for ENRR under ambient conditions.