Abstract
Renewable energy driven N(2) electroreduction with air as nitrogen source holds great promise for realizing scalable green ammonia production. However, relevant out-lab research is still in its infancy. Herein, a novel Sn-based MXene/MAX hybrid with abundant Sn vacancies, Sn@Ti(2)CT(X)/Ti(2)SnC-V, was synthesized by controlled etching Sn@Ti(2)SnC MAX phase and demonstrated as an efficient electrocatalyst for electrocatalytic N(2) reduction. Due to the synergistic effect of MXene/MAX heterostructure, the existence of Sn vacancies and the highly dispersed Sn active sites, the obtained Sn@Ti(2)CT(X)/Ti(2)SnC-V exhibits an optimal NH(3) yield of 28.4 µg h(-1) mg(cat)(-1) with an excellent FE of 15.57% at - 0.4 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode in 0.1 M Na(2)SO(4), as well as an ultra-long durability. Noticeably, this catalyst represents a satisfactory NH(3) yield rate of 10.53 µg h(-1) mg(-1) in the home-made simulation device, where commercial electrochemical photovoltaic cell was employed as power source, air and ultrapure water as feed stock. The as-proposed strategy represents great potential toward ammonia production in terms of financial cost according to the systematic technical economic analysis. This work is of significance for large-scale green ammonia production.