Regulating charge distribution of Cu 3 PdN nanocrystals for nitrate electroreduction to ammonia.

As-synthesized Cu 3 PdN nanocrystals displayed high faradaic efficiency and selectivity for nitrate-to-ammonia conversion. The excellent performances can be attributed to the charge redistribution in Cu 3 PdN as a result of modulations of the electronic structures of Pd and Cu atoms, which altered the adsorption activation energy of the intermediates during the nitrate reduction reaction process.