Co/N-doped carbon nanospheres derived from an adenine-based metal organic framework enabled high-efficiency electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia

Abstract

Electrocatalytic nitrate (NO₃⁻) reduction provides us a dual-function strategy for N-contaminant removal and value-added ammonia (NH₃) synthesis. However, there is still a lack of efficient electrocatalysts for selective NO₃⁻ reduction. Herein, we report the development of Co/N-doped carbon nanospheres derived from an adenine-based metal organic framework (Co@NC) as an attractive electrocatalyst for efficient NH₃ synthesis through the reduction of NO₃⁻. Such Co@NC manifests a notable faradaic efficiency of 96.5% and a high NH₃ yield of up to 758.0 μmol h⁻¹ mg_cat.⁻¹ in 0.1 M NO₃⁻-containing 0.1 M NaOH. Moreover, it also demonstrates strong electrochemical stability.