Boosting Alkaline Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia via Molybdenum-Mediated Hydrogenation on CuO Nanoarrays

Abstract

Herein, we report Mo-doped CuO nanoarrays (NAs) synthesized via a facile method. The incorporation of Mo modulates the electronic structure of Cu and introduces robust H* adsorption sites, significantly accelerating the rate-determining hydrogenation steps. The optimized Mo1-doped CuO NAs achieve a peak Faradaic efficiency of 90.1% for NH3 and a yield rate of 7.8 ± 0.1 mg h-1 cm-2 at -0.6 V vs. RHE. This work provides insights into the synergistic effects of Mo-doping for high-efficiency NO3- upcycling in alkaline environments.