Synthesis of B-doped C3N4 nanosheets by secondary sintering for enhanced electrocatalytic nitrogen fixation performance.

Electrochemical nitrogen fixation has received great attention in recent years due to its reliable and stable electrolytic efficiency. In this work, boron-doped carbon nitride with π-electron delocalization and vacancies was prepared by an in situ decomposition-thermal polymerization method. A series of characterizations were utilized to analyze the structure, morphology, and property. The results demonstrated that the secondary sintering and boron doping enhanced π-electron delocalization and induced the nitrogen vacancies of g-C3N4. The 0.24% boron-doped g-C3N4 electrocatalyst achieved the best ammonia yield (5.4 μg·h−1·mgcat−1) and the highest Faraday efficiency (14.1%) at −0.7 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode in 0.1 M Na2SO4. Furthermore, a feasible mechanism was proposed for the electrochemical nitrogen reduction process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]