Complementary Design in Multicomponent Electrocatalysts for Electrochemical Nitrogen Reduction: Beyond the Leverage in Activity and Selectivity

Electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (eNRR) is promising in place of the Haber-Bosch process for artificial N₂ fixation. However, the high activity and selectivity of eNRR are challenging to achieve simultaneously due to the scaling relations. Such "leverage" between activity and selectivity has severely restricted eNRR. To overcome this bottleneck, the complementary design of electronic structures in multicomponent electrocatalysts has been recently pursued, aiming to maximize the advantages of each component and optimize the multistep reactions, which has stood at the cutting edge in this aspect. Here, we present a minireview of the design, performance, and mechanism of multicomponent electrocatalysts with complementary electronic structures. We particularly emphasize the interactions between N₂ and elements from d-, p-, and s-blocks, which are essential for understanding how these electrocatalysts are beyond the "leverage" between activity and selectivity.