In this work, we discuss the plausible reaction mechanisms of electrochemical N2 oxidation (N2OR) at the molecular level and its competition with the parasitic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). We suggest the design strategies for N2 oxidation electro-catalysts by first comparing the performance of two catalysts – TiO2(110) (poor OER catalyst) and IrO2(110) (good OER catalyst), towards dinitrogen oxidation and then establish trends/scaling relations to correlate OER and N2OR activities. The challenges associated with electrochemical N2OR are highlighted.
Megha Anand, Christina Susan Abraham, Jens K. Norskov
Chem. Sci., 2021,12, 6442-6448
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