Boosting Electroreduction Kinetics of Nitrogen to Ammonia via Atomically Dispersed Sn Protuberance.

Atomically dispersed metal catalysts show potential advantages in N reduction reaction (NRR) due to their excellent activity and efficient metal utilization. Unfortunately, the reported catalysts usually exhibit unsatisfactory NRR activity due to their poor N adsorption and activation. Herein, we report a novel Sn atomically dispersed protuberance (ADP) by coordination with substrate C and O to induce positive charge accumulation on Sn site for improving its N adsorption, activation and NRR performance. The extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra confirmed the local coordination structure of the Sn ADPs. NRR activity was significantly promoted via Sn ADPs, exhibiting a remarkable NH yield (R ) of 28.3 μg h  mg (7447 μg h  mg ) at -0.3 V. Furthermore, the enhanced N H intermediates was verified by in situ experiments, yielding consistent results with DFT calculation. This work opens a new avenue to regulate the activity and selectivity of N fixation.