Tandem electrocatalytic N 2 fixation via proton-coupled electron transfer

New electrochemical ammonia (NH 3 ) synthesis technologies are of interest as a complementary route to the Haber–Bosch process for distributed fertilizer generation, and towards exploiting ammonia as a zero-carbon fuel produced via renewably sourced electricity 1 . Apropos of these goals is a surge of fundamental research targeting heterogeneous materials as electrocatalysts for the nitrogen reduction reaction (N 2 RR) 2 . These systems generally suffer from poor stability and NH 3 selectivity; the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) outcompetes N 2 RR 3 . Molecular catalyst systems can be exquisitely tuned and offer an alternative strategy 4 , but progress has been thwarted by the same selectivity issue; HER dominates. Here we describe a tandem catalysis strategy that offers a solution to this puzzle. A molecular complex that can mediate an N 2 reduction cycle is partnered with a co-catalyst that interfaces the electrode and an acid to mediate proton-coupled electron transfer steps, facilitating N−H bond formation at a favourable applied potential (−1.2 V versus Fc +/0 ) and overall thermodynamic efficiency. Certain intermediates of the N 2 RR cycle would be otherwise unreactive via uncoupled electron transfer or proton transfer steps. Structurally diverse complexes of several metals (W, Mo, Os, Fe) also mediate N 2 RR electrocatalysis at the same potential in the presence of the mediator, pointing to the generality of this tandem approach.