Enhanced electrocatalytic performance of TiO nanoparticles by Pd doping toward ammonia synthesis under ambient conditions.

The traditional Haber-Bosch process in industry to produce NH leads to excessive CO emissions and a large amount of energy consumption. Ambient electrochemical N reduction is emerging as a green and sustainable alternative method to convert N to NH, but is in sore need of efficient and stable electrocatalysts. Herein, we propose using Pd-doped TiO nanoparticles as a high-efficiency electrocatalyst to synthesize NH under ambient conditions. The Pd-TiO catalyst delivers a large NH yield (17.4 μg h mg) and a high faradaic efficiency (12.7%) at -0.50 V reversible hydrogen electrode in a neutral electrolyte, outperforming most Pd- and Ti-based electrocatalysts recently reported for N reduction. Most importantly, it also demonstrates extraordinary long-term electrochemical stability.