Glycerine-based synthesis of a highly efficient FeO electrocatalyst for N fixation.

The electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) is a promising approach to convert N into high value-added NH. However, it is still a challenge to achieve an efficient electrocatalyst for the NRR. Herein, it is demonstrated that the FeO nanoparticles (NPs) generated from a glycerine-based synthesis can be applied as highly efficient catalysts for the NRR. The FeO NPs show good performance with a high NH yield (22 μg mg h) and a favorable Faradaic efficiency (FE) (3.5%) at -0.5 V reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). The facile synthesis strategy and satisfactory electrochemical properties demonstrate the potential application of the as-synthesized FeO NPs for NRR.