Boron-Modulated Electronic-Configuration Tuning of Cobalt for Enhanced Nitric Oxide Fixation to Ammonia
Bichao Wu, Lei Huang, Lvji Yan, Haiyin Gang, Yiyun Cao, Dun Wei, Haiying Wang, Zaiping Guo, Wenchao Zhang
Abstract
Electrocatalytic nitric oxide reduction (eNORR) to ammonia (NH 3 ) provides an environmental route to alleviate NO pollution and yield great-value chemicals. The evolution of eNORR has been primarily hindered, however, by the poor reaction kinetics and low solubility of the NO in aqueous electrolytes. Herein, we have rationally designed a cobalt-based composite with a heterostructure as a highly efficient eNORR catalyst. In addition, by integrating boron to modulate the electronic structure, the catalyst CoB/Co@C delivered a significant NH 3 yield of 315.4 μmol h –1 cm –2 for eNORR and an outstanding power density of 3.68 mW cm –2 in a Zn-NO battery. The excellent electrochemical performance of CoB/Co@C is attributed to the enrichment of NO by cobalt and boron dual-site adsorption and fast charge-transfer kinetics. It is demonstrated that the boron is pivotal in the enhancement of NO, the suppression of hydrogen evolution, and Co oxidation to boost eNORR performance.