Theoretical Insights on Au-based Bimetallic Alloy Electrocatalysts for Nitrogen Reduction Reaction with High Selectivity and Activity

Electrochemical reduction of nitrogen to produce ammonia at moderate conditions in aqueous solutions holds great prospect but also faces huge challenges. Considering the high selectivity of Au-based materials to inhibit competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and high activity of transition metals such as Fe and Mo toward the nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), it was proposed that Au-based alloy materials could act as efficient catalysts for N2 fixation based on density functional theory simulations. Only on Mo3 Au(111) surface the adsorption of N2 is stronger than H atom. Thermodynamics combined with kinetics studies were performed to investigate the influence of composition and ratio of Au-based alloys on NRR and HER. The binding energy and reorganization energy affected performance for the initial N2 activation and hydrogenation process. By considering the free-energy diagram, the computed potential-determining step was either the first or the fifth hydrogenation step on metal catalysts. The optimum catalytic activity could be achieved by adjusting atomic proportion in alloys to make all intermediate species exhibit moderate adsorption. Free-energy diagrams of N2 hydrogenation via Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism and hydrogen evolution via Tafel mechanism were compared to reveal that the Mo3 Au surface showed satisfactory catalytic performance by simultaneously promoting NRR and suppressing HER. Theoretical simulations demonstrated that Au-Mo alloy materials could be applied as high-performance electrocatalysts for NRR.