Binary-Soft-Template-Mediated Construction of Fe(OH)<sub>3</sub>/NiMnFe LDH Heteronanostructures for Nitrate Electroreduction.

Fan, Xu-Zhuo; Zhao, Jia-Wei; Yin, Ting-Ting; Zhang, Gang; Zheng, Dong; Zhang, Jian-Ding; Lv, An-Chen; Fu, Yan-Ming et al. · Nano Lett · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction (NO<sub>3</sub>RR) efficiently converts nitrate pollutants into valuable ammonia. While layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are promising NO<sub>3</sub>RR catalysts, their inherent low conductivity and layer stacking hinder performance. Herein, we report a binary-soft-template-mediated colloidal strategy to fabricate monolayer NiMnFe LDH ultrathin nanosheets (UNSs), constructing Fe(OH)<sub>3</sub>/NiMnFe LDHs heteronanostructures (HNs) via edge-selective growth. This noble-metal-free, loop-sheet catalyst achieves an outstanding ammonia production rate (24.41 mg h<sup>-1</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup>), high selectivity, and long-term durability. These superior catalytic properties are attributed to Fe incorporation, which optimizes the electronic structure and enriches active sites, and the constructed heterointerfaces that facilitate efficient electron transfer. This synthetic strategy provides a robust platform for engineering advanced LDH-based and 2D materials to achieve specific functionalities in nitrate reduction.