Piezoelectric ZnO Nanorod for Piezo-Electrocatalysis

Ammonia plays an important role in agriculture and chemistry industry, serving as the feedstock for fertilizer production and high-energy, carbon-free carrier for hydrogen production. While current artificial nitrogen fixation to produce ammonia relies significantly on high-temperature, high-pressure Harbor-Bosch process that leads to high CO₂ emission and energy consumption, electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) provides a green and carbon-free approach for ammonia synthesis under ambient conditions. Leveraging the piezoelectric properties of ZnO nanorod (ZnO NRs), we demonstrated a two-time ammonia production increase by providing a strain. We further showed that ZnO NRs exhibited excellent cyclic stability and long-term stability. Our result highlights the synergetic effect of piezoelectric nanomaterials in cost-efficient, energy-saving artificial nitrogen fixation.