Employing a non-noble trimetal oxide system toward an
electrochemical
nitrogen reduction reaction (eNRR) instead of a century-long and CO2-emission Haber–Bosch process reveals a green path
for NH3 production. In this work, the trimetal Fe–Mn–Ga
oxide electrocatalyst was prepared with a facile one-pot hydrothermal
method followed by annealing. Crystal structure, morphology, composition,
and electrochemical properties were characterized. The flower-like
(Fe,Mn,Ga)3O4–x
spinel/tabular
crystal-like (Mn,Fe)2O3–y
bixbyite composite electrocatalyst was in situ formed
with many active oxygen atoms on the oxygen vacancy sites and transition
metals of Fe and Mn at multiple oxidation states. In a N2-saturated 0.1 M Na2SO4 solution, the NH3 yield rate at a potential of −0.6 V vs RHE is 814
μg h–1mgcat
–1 (2036 μg h–1cm–2) with
Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 5.77%, while the highest FE of 19.7% is
achieved at −0.5 V with a yield rate of 599 μg h–1mgcat
–1. The reaction
mechanism for NH3 production is investigated and explained.