Facile Synthesis of Holey Phosphorene via Low Temperature Electrochemical Exfoliation for Electrocatalytic Nitrogen Reduction

Nano black phosphorus (BP) has been widely used in many fields due to its outstanding properties. The novel morphology and structure of nano BP would bring new properties and expand its application. In this work, a novel holey phosphorene was prepared by a low temperature electrochemical exfoliation method for the first time. The low temperature condition plays a significant role in reducing the oxidizing reaction rate, thus facilitating the formation of pore in the basal plane of BP during the exfoliation process. The as-prepared holey phosphorene can act as a metal-free electrocatalyst for electroreduction of nitrogen, which exhibits a high NH3 yield of 46.04 mu g h(-1) mg(cat.)(-1) with a Faradaic efficiency of 8.78 % at -0.7 V vs. RHE.