摘要
The electrochemical N 2 reduction reaction (NRR) has attracted much attention for its use in the production of fertilizers and other chemicals. Herein, we demonstrate that the NRR can be enhanced when using Fe/Co co-doped MoS 2 (FeCo–MoS 2 ) nanosheets as the electrocatalyst. At the optimal doping concentration, the FeCo–MoS 2 nanosheets provided a NH 3 yield rate of 3.27 μg/h/cm 2 at −0.55 V [vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE)], a value superior to those of undoped MoS 2 , Fe-doped MoS 2 , and Co-doped MoS 2 samples by 191, 176, and 116%, respectively. Moreover, the Faradaic efficiency of 6.28% at −0.35 V (vs RHE) exceeded those of the undoped MoS 2 , Fe-doped MoS 2 , and Co-doped MoS 2 samples by 217, 186, and 132%, respectively. Density functional theory calculations revealed that the preferred reaction mediated by the FeCo–MoS 2 electrocatalyst followed a distal pathway, with its potential-determining step having an energy barrier (0.54 eV) lower than that of undoped MoS 2 (1.13 eV), suggesting that the FeCo–MoS 2 nanosheets possessed superior electrocatalytic activity. We conclude that Fe and Co are efficient dopants for boosting the NRR activity of MoS 2 catalysts.