Boron-Modulated Electronic-Configuration Tuning of Cobalt for Enhanced Nitric Oxide Fixation to Ammonia.

Wu, Bichao; Huang, Lei; Yan, Lvji; Gang, Haiyin; Cao, Yiyun; Wei, Dun; Wang, Haiying; Guo, Zaiping et al. · Nano Lett · 2023

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Electrocatalytic nitric oxide reduction (eNORR) to ammonia (NH<sub>3</sub>) provides an environmental route to alleviate NO pollution and yield great-value chemicals. The evolution of eNORR has been primarily hindered, however, by the poor reaction kinetics and low solubility of the NO in aqueous electrolytes. Herein, we have rationally designed a cobalt-based composite with a heterostructure as a highly efficient eNORR catalyst. In addition, by integrating boron to modulate the electronic structure, the catalyst CoB/Co@C delivered a significant NH<sub>3</sub> yield of 315.4 μmol h<sup>-1</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup> for eNORR and an outstanding power density of 3.68 mW cm<sup>-2</sup> in a Zn-NO battery. The excellent electrochemical performance of CoB/Co@C is attributed to the enrichment of NO by cobalt and boron dual-site adsorption and fast charge-transfer kinetics. It is demonstrated that the boron is pivotal in the enhancement of NO, the suppression of hydrogen evolution, and Co oxidation to boost eNORR performance.