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 simultaneously 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 molecules 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 μmol 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.