Seeking a breakthrough in the development of efficient nitrogen fixation catalysts has become the frontier of energy and chemical conversion schemes. Here, we report that the MXene Ti₃C₂ can serve as a promising catalyst for the electrochemical N₂ reduction reaction (NRR) under ambient conditions. The electrocatalytic performance of Ti₃C₂ can be further optimized through surface engineering. Specifically, Ti₃C₂ with the increased number of surface hydroxyl moieties demonstrates enhanced production of NH₃ with a yield rate of 1.71 μg h^-1 cm^-2, a Faradaic efficiency of 7.01% at -0.2 V vs. RHE at 20 °C and an even higher yield rate of 12.46 μg h^-1 cm^-2 together with a Faradaic efficiency of 9.03% at -0.2 V vs. RHE at 60 °C. The detailed electrochemical analysis suggests that the surface hydroxyl modification can effectively facilitate the electron transfer, surface adsorption, and activation of dinitrogen. Our work sheds light on the development of efficient NRR catalysts based on earth-abundant elements.

在开发高效固氮催化剂方面寻求突破已成为能源和化学转化方案的前沿。在这里，我们报告MXene Ti ₃ C ₂可以在环境条件下用作电化学N ₂还原反应（NRR）的有前途的催化剂。Ti ₃ C ₂的电催化性能可以通过表面工程进一步优化。具体而言，具有增加的表面羟基部分的数量的Ti ₃ C ₂证明了NH ₃的产生增加，产率为1.71μgh ^-1 cm ^-2，在-0.2 V时相对于RHE在20°C时的法拉第效率为7.01％，甚至更高的产率为12.46μgh ^-1 cm ^-2，在-0.2 V时相对于RHE在60 °C时的法拉第效率为9.03％ ℃。详细的电化学分析表明，表面羟基改性可有效促进电子转移，表面吸附和二氮活化。我们的工作阐明了基于富含地球元素的高效NRR催化剂的开发。