Cobalt-copper dual-atom catalyst boosts electrocatalytic nitrate reduction from water
Jinshan Wei, Hexing Lin, Yi Li, Ying Guo, Shaoqing Liu, Meng Sun, Yayun Li, Yayun Li, Yayun Li
Abstract
Electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (NO 3 RR) presents a promising approach for sustainable water denitrification. Yet its practical implementation is hindered by sluggish reaction kinetics. Herein, we develop a nitrogen-doped carbon supported cobalt-copper dual-atom catalyst (CoCu-NC DAC) to significantly enhance the electro-catalytic NO 3 RR performance. The optimized CoCu-NC DAC demonstrates exceptional activity, achieving a faraday efficiency of 95.3 % and a high NH 4 + yield rate of 2.41 mg h −1 cm −2 at −0.6 V RHE , surpassing the performance of conventional Cu/Co single-atom catalysts. In-situ analysis and density functional theory calculations confirm that the synergistic effects arising from (1) optimized electronic structure for balanced intermediate adsorption, and (2) enhanced surface H concentration facilitating NO x hydrogenation. This work not only provides fundamental insights into the DACs, but also offers a practical solution for groundwater nitrate remediation, opening new avenues for the application of atomically dispersed catalysts.