Engineering One-Dimensional AuPd Nanospikes for Efficient Electrocatalytic Nitrogen Fixation.

Designing one-dimensional (1D) bimetallic nanomaterials is of great significance for electrochemical nitrogen fixation. Inspired by this, 1D AuPd nanospikes (AuPd NSs) composed with internal Au nanowire and external Pd nanohumps were fabricated by a flexible low-temperature wet-chemical method. Benefiting from the excellent electron transport efficiency of the 1D material and the accessible surface area provided by the unique nanospike-like structure, AuPd NSs exhibit outstanding nitrogen reduction reaction performance with an NH3 yield rate of 16.9 μg h-1 mg-1cat. and a Faradaic efficiency of 15.9% at -0.3 V under 0.1 M Na2SO4. This work not only provides an effective electrocatalyst for nitrogen fixation technology, but also presents a flexible method for the controlled synthesis of spike-like nanomaterials.