LiVO₃/LiZnVO₄ Nanocomposite: High Performance Electrocatalyst for Ambient Nitrogen Reduction to Ammonia

The electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (e‐NRR) has emerged as a sustainable alternative to the energy‐intensive Haber–Bosch process for ammonia (NH 3 ) synthesis. Lithium‐based electrocatalysts are particularly promising due to the high thermodynamic affinity of lithium toward nitrogen, which facilitates spontaneous N 2 adsorption to lower the activation energy required for dinitrogen dissociation. By promoting proton‐coupled electron transfer and stabilizing NRR intermediates, the composite catalyst enhances reaction kinetics, enabling efficient NH 3 production. While nonaqueous lithium‐containing electrolytes suppress the hydrogen evolution reaction, lithium deposition from electrolyte decomposition inhibits e‐NRR. This study addresses the challenge by structurally integrating lithium into a LiVO 3 /LiZnVO 4 nanocomposite, which channels lithium into active catalytic sites rather than parasitic plating. The oxide‐oxide nanocomposite electrocatalyst delivers an ammonia yield of 53.7 μg h −1 mg cat −1 and a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 44.8% at −0.5 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode in 0.1 M HCl electrolyte. To the best of the knowledge, this report presents a significant improvement in FE against other reported Li‐mediated systems and rivalling transition metal‐based catalysts.