Atomically dispersed Co catalyst for electrocatalytic NO reduction to NH3

Electrocatalytic NO reduction to NH3 (NORR) represents an energy-efficient and eco-friendly route to simulta-neously remedy NO pollution and produce valuable NH3. Herein, we design atomically dispersed Co anchored on MoS2 (Co1/MoS2) as a highly active and durable NORR catalyst. Detailed characterizations and theoretical calculations unveil the creation of active Co1-S3 moieties on Co1/MoS2, which can selectively absorb NO mol-ecules and promote the hydrogenation energetics of NORR process. As a result, Co1/MoS2 exhibits an excellent NORR performance with an NH3 yield of 217.6 pmol h-1 cm-2 and an NH3-Faradaic efficiency of 87.7 % at-0.5 V vs RHE, substantially outperforming pristine MoS2 and most reported NORR catalysts.

Automated summary

This study presents the design of atomically dispersed Co anchored on MoS2 as a highly active and durable catalyst for electrocatalytic NO reduction to NH3. The Co1/MoS2 catalyst exhibits excellent NORR performance, outperforming most reported catalysts.