Mn3O4 nanoparticles@reduced graphene oxide composite:An efficient electrocatalyst for artificial N2 fixation to NH3 at ambient conditions

Currently,industrial-scale NH3 production almost relies on energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process from atmospheric N2 with large amount of CO2 emission,while low-cost and high-efficient catalysts are demanded for the N2 reduction reaction (NRR).In this study,Mn3O4 nanoparticles@reduced graphene oxide (Mn3O4@rGO) composite is reported as an efficient NRR electrocatalyst with excellent selectivity for NH3 formation.In 0.1 M Na2SO4 solution,such catalyst obtains a NH3 yield of 17.4 μg·h^-1·mg^-1cat.and a Faradaic efficiency of 3.52% at-0.85 V vs.reversible hydrogen electrode.Notably,it also shows high electrochemical stability during electrolysis process.Density functional theory (DFT) calculations also demonstrate that the (112) planes of Mn3O4 possess superior NRR activity.