Plasma-etched Ti2O3 with oxygen vacancies for enhanced NH3 electrosynthesis and Zn–N2 batteries

Hai-jun Chen; Zhao-quan Xu; Shengjun Sun; Yongsong Luo; Qian Liu; Mohamed S. Hamdy; Zhe-sheng Feng; Xuping Sun; Yan Wang

doi:10.1039/D2QI01173E

Plasma-etched Ti₂O₃ with oxygen vacancies for enhanced NH₃ electrosynthesis and Zn–N₂ batteries†

Hai-jun Chen,^ab Zhao-quan Xu,^b Shengjun Sun,^c Yongsong Luo,^c Qian Liu,*^a Mohamed S. Hamdy,^d Zhe-sheng Feng,^b Xuping Sun

*^ce and Yan Wang

*^b

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, Sichuan, China
E-mail: liuqian@cdu.edu.cn

^b School of Materials and Energy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, Sichuan, China
E-mail: wy@uestc.edu.cn

^c Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, Sichuan, China
E-mail: xpsun@uestc.edu.cn

^d Catalysis Research Group (CRG), Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, 61413 Abha, Saudi Arabia

^e College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, Shandong, China

Abstract

The sustainable production of NH₃ through an ambient electrocatalytic N₂ reduction reaction (NRR) requires the ingenious design of efficient electrocatalysts. Herein, plasma-etched Ti₂O₃ with oxygen vacancies (OV-Ti₂O₃) is reported as an active and stable electrocatalyst for NRR. The resulting OV-Ti₂O₃ catalyst exhibits outstanding N₂ fixation performances in 0.1 M HCl with the maximum NH₃ yield and faradaic efficiency of up to 37.24 μg h⁻¹ mg_cat.⁻¹ and 19.29%, respectively. Additionally, a rechargeable aqueous Zn–N₂ battery with an OV-Ti₂O₃ cathode was assembled to deliver a power density of 1.02 mW cm⁻² and an NH₃ yield of 4.3 μg h⁻¹ mg_cat.⁻¹, outperforming reported Zn–N₂ batteries.

This article is part of the themed collection: 2022 Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers HOT articles

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Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QI01173E
Article type: Research Article
Submitted: 01 6 2022
Accepted: 14 7 2022
First published: 15 7 2022

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Inorg. Chem. Front., 2022,9, 4608-4613

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Plasma-etched Ti₂O₃ with oxygen vacancies for enhanced NH₃ electrosynthesis and Zn–N₂ batteries

H. Chen, Z. Xu, S. Sun, Y. Luo, Q. Liu, M. S. Hamdy, Z. Feng, X. Sun and Y. Wang, Inorg. Chem. Front., 2022, 9, 4608 DOI: 10.1039/D2QI01173E

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