Electrospun TiC/C nanofibers for ambient electrocatalytic N2 reduction

Electrochemical N2 reduction offers an environmentally benign and sustainable approach for NH3 synthesis under ambient conditions wherein a high-efficiency electrocatalyst is paramount. In this study, we report that TiC/C nanofibers act as an efficient one-dimensional electrocatalyst for N2-to-NH3 conversion. In 0.1 M HCl, such an electrocatalyst achieves a large NH3 yield of 14.1 μg h-1 mg-1cat. and a high faradaic efficiency of 5.8% at-0.5 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode. Notably, this electrocatalyst also shows both high electrochemical stability and structural stability during electrolysis. Density functional theory calculations further reveal that TiC can efficiently activate N2 in an enzymatic route with a low energy barrier.