Enhancing electrochemical ammonia synthesis on palladium nanorods through surface hydrogenation

Abstract Electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction provides sustainable environment-friendly process for ambient ammonia synthesis, and the development of highly active electrocatalysts is the critical topic. Herein, palladium hydride nanorods (PdH0.43 NRs) are synthetized for electrochemical ammonia synthesis via the hydrogenation of Pd NRs with N,N-dimethylformamide. Due to the one-dimensional structure and enhanced nitrogen adsorption, PdH0.43 NRs exhibit excellent NH3 yield (17.53 mg h−1 mg-1cat.), Faradaic efficiency (18.56%) and long-term electrochemical stability, superior to those of Pd NRs without hydrogenation. This hydrogenation strategy would offer an attractive strategy for the design of high-efficiency and robust metal hydrides for active NRR.