Mo 2 C for electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia.

Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia (NRA) shows great potential to simultaneously realize sustainable NH 3 production and NO 3 - pollutant elimination. Herein, Mo 2 C, a typical transition metal carbide, is first demonstrated to be an efficient and durable NRA catalyst. The developed Mo 2 C nanoparticles anchored on reduced graphene oxide (Mo 2 C/RGO) show a maximum NH 3 -faradaic efficiency of 85.2% with a corresponding NH 3 yield of 4.8 mg h -1 cm -2 . Theoretical computations reveal that surface-terminated Mo sites of Mo 2 C can selectively absorb NO 3 - and effectively boost the NRA process through a NOH hydrogenation pathway.