Bismuth-doped manganese molybdenum bimetallic oxide nanorods as a highly efficient nitrogen reduction catalyst†

Manganese molybdate has been shown to be an excellent NRR catalyst due to its uniform rod-like structure and large specific surface area, and in order to further improve its catalytic performance, MnMoO₄ has been modified using an elemental doping strategy. Here, we developed a simple scheme for doping elemental Bi into MnMoO₄ and explored the effects of different doping amounts on the properties of MnMoO₄ by adjusting the amount of Bi dopant. The results showed that Bi was successfully introduced into the lattice of MnMoO₄ and induced lattice perturbations and led to the generation of more oxygen vacancies. 6% Bi–MnMoO₄ exhibited good catalytic performance with an NH₃ yield of 19.22 μg h⁻¹ mg_cat.⁻¹ and high FE (17.13%) at −0.40 V (vs.RHE) and also exhibited excellent electrochemical stability and structural durability. Cyclic voltammetry cycling tests reveal an increased electrochemical active surface area, exposing more active sites and thereby demonstrating superior electrocatalytic activity, as well as exceptional electrochemical stability and structural durability. This study provides new strategies for constructing efficient nitrogen reduction reaction catalysts.