Commercial Indium-Tin Oxide Glass: A Catalyst Electrode For Efficient N-2 Reduction At Ambient Conditions

The typical Haber technical process for industrial NH3 production involves plenty of energy-consumption and large quantities of greenhouse gas emission. In contrast, electrochemical N-2 reduction proffers environment-friendly and energy-efficient avenues to synthesize NH3 at mild conditions but demands efficient electrocatalysts for the N-2 reduction reaction (NRR). Herein we report for the first time that commercial indium-tin oxide glass (ITO/G) can be used as a catalyst electrode toward artificial N-2 fixation, as it demonstrates excellent selectivity at mild conditions. Such ITO/G delivers excellent NRR performance with a NH3 yield of 1.06 x 10(-10) mol s(-1) cm(-2) and a faradaic efficiency of 6.17% at -0.40 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in 0.5 M LiClO4. Furthermore, the ITO/G also possesses good electrochemical stability and durability. Finally, the possible reaction mechanism for the NRR on the ITO catalysts was explored using first-principles calculations. (C) 2021, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.