Efficient Electrocatalytic Nitrogen Fixation on FeMoO4 Nanorods.

Electroreduction of N2 represents a promising technique for ambient NH3 synthesis, but exploring efficient electrocatalysts for nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) remains a key challenge. Herein, we reported our experimental and theoretical findings that FeMoO4 could be a new candidate for effective and durable NRR in neutral solution. The developed FeMoO4 nanorods exhibited a fascinating NRR activity with an NH3 yield of 45.8 μg h-1 mg-1 (-0.5 V) and a Faradaic efficiency of 13.2% (-0.3 V). Mechanistic studies disclosed that Fe and Mo synergistically promoted the N2 adsorption and accelerated the electron transfer on FeMoO4, whereas the unsaturated 3-fold coordinated Mo (Mo3c) sites served as the main active centers for stabilizing the key *N2H intermediate and reducing the reaction energy barrier.