Electrochemical reduction of N₂ to NH₃ at the ambient condition is a promising alternative to the Haber-Bosch process. Carbon-based catalysts are widely used in electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction, the introduction of heteroatoms can further improve the properties of carbon materials. In a pioneering work of Légaré et al., it was found that the boron atom of borylene molecular can fix N₂ molecules effectively and the dopant of boron introduces more defects.

In this study, boron doped carbon electrocatalysts were synthesized using the PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymers (F127) and boric acid though a controlled pyrolysis method. The catalytic performance of the catalysts analyzed under different pH electrolysis condition (KOH, KHCO₃ and HCl) at different reversible potentials. As a result, in neutral KHCO₃ electrolyte boron doped carbon electrocatalysts exhibited outstanding NRR performance with an ammonia yield of 19.0 μg h⁻¹ mg_cat.⁻¹ at -0.40V (vs. RHE), and Faradaic efficiency of 11.9% at −0.10 V (vs. RHE) together with excellent stability. When the catalyst was in strong acid or alkali electrolyte, its catalytic performance and stability were lower than that in neutral electrolyte.