Bi nanoparticles/carbon nanosheet composite: A high-efficiency electrocatalyst for NO reduction to NH3

Abstract

Electrochemical reduction of NO offers us an attractive alternative to traditional selective catalytic reduction process for harmful NO removal and simultaneous NH3 production, but it requires efficient electrocatalyst to enable the NO reduction reaction with high selectivity. Here, we report on the development of Bi nanoparticles/carbon nanosheet composite (Bi@C) for highly effective NO reduction electrocatalysis toward selective NH3 formation. Such Bi@C catalyst attains an impressive NH3 yield of 1,592.5 µg·hr−1·mgcat.−1 and a high Faradaic efficiency as high as 93% in 0.1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte. Additionally, it can be applied as efficient cathode materials for Zn−NO battery to reduce NO to NH3 with high electricity generation. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].