“Capture-Backdonation-Recapture” Mechanism for Promoting N 2 Reduction by Heteronuclear Metal-Free Double-Atom Catalysts

Facing the increasingly serious energy and environmental crisis, the development of heteronuclear metal-free double-atom catalysts is a potential strategy to realize efficient catalytic nitrogen reduction with low energy consumption and no pollution because it could combine the advantages of flexible active sites in double-atom catalysts while also being pollution-free and have high Faraday efficiency in metal-free catalysts simultaneously. However, according to the existing mechanism, the finite orbits of other nonmetallic atoms, except the boron atom, reduce the possibility of metal-free catalysis and hinder the development of heteronuclear metal-free double-atom catalysts. Herein, we propose a new…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: U1766216, 51471124
• MO
  Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China

  Award: 2018YFB0905600
• NS
  Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province

  Awards: 2019JM-189, 2020JM-218
• CU
  Central University Basic Research Fund of China

  Award: CHD300102311405