Co/N-doped carbon nanospheres derived from an adenine-based metal organic framework enabled high-efficiency electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia

Abstract

Electrocatalytic nitrate (NO3−) reduction provides us a dual-function strategy for N-contaminant removal and value-added ammonia (NH3) synthesis. However, there is still a lack of efficient electrocatalysts for selective NO3− reduction. Herein, we report the development of Co/N-doped carbon nanospheres derived from an adenine-based metal organic framework (Co@NC) as an attractive electrocatalyst for efficient NH3 synthesis through the reduction of NO3−. Such Co@NC manifests a notable faradaic efficiency of 96.5% and a high NH3 yield of up to 758.0 μmol h−1 mgcat.−1 in 0.1 M NO3−-containing 0.1 M NaOH. Moreover, it also demonstrates strong electrochemical stability.