Interface engineering in a Cu–CoO heterostructure for high-efficiency electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia

Abstract

Herein, we have synthesized a Cu–CoO@CNT heterostructure catalyst for electrochemical NO₃⁻-to-NH₃ conversion. The as-synthesized Cu–CoO@CNT exhibits a superior electrocatalytic activity with the NH₃-FE reaching the maximum value of 98.1 ± 1.5% at −0.6 V (vs. RHE). The electron transfer-induced structural transition stabilizes Cu in the highly active +2 valence state, thereby enabling it to maintain strong adsorption of reaction intermediates.