Coordination Engineering of Heteronuclear Fe-Mo Dual-Atom Catalyst for Promoted Electrocatalytic Nitrogen Fixation: A DFT Study

Xiaojing Liu, Zhiwei Wang, Guoning Feng, Yujie Sun, Xintao Zhang, Xin Chen, Rongjian Sa, Qiaohong Li, Chenghua Sun, Zuju Ma

链接：https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202303148

Abstract

Developing efficient nanostructured electrocatalysts for N2 reduction to NH3 under mild conditions remains a major challenge. The Fe-Mo cofactor serves as the archetypal active site in nitrogenase. Inspired by nitrogenase, we designed a series of heteronuclear dual-atom catalysts (DACs) labeled as FeMoN6-aXa (a =1, 2, 3; X = B, C, O, S) anchored on the pore of g-C3N4 to probe the impact of coordination on FeMo-catalyzed nitrogen fixation. The stability, reaction paths, activity, and selectivity of 12 different FeMoN6-aXaDACs have been systematically studied using density functional theory. Of these, four DACs (FeMoN5B1, FeMoN5O1, FeMoN4O2, and FeMoN3C3) displayed promising nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) performance. Notably, FeMoN5O1 stands out with an ultralow limiting potential of −0.11 V and high selectivity. Analysis of the density of states and charge/spin changes shows FeMoN5O1's high activity arises from optimal N2 binding on Fe initially and synergy of the FeMo dimer enabling protonation in NRR. This work contributes to the advancement of rational design for efficient NRR catalysts by regulating atomic coordination environments.

Chemistry–A European Journal为中科院大类二区期刊，影响因子4.3.