Ionic Liquid‐Assisted Electrocatalytic NO Reduction to NH3 by P‐Doped MoS2

Abstract Ambient NH 3 electrosynthesis from NO reduction reaction (NORR) is attractive in replacing the industrial Haber‐Bosch route; however, the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in aqueous electrolyte typically induces a limited selectivity and activity toward NH 3 production. Herein, hierarchical P‐doped MoS 2 nanospheres are developed as the NORR electrocatalyst in an ionic liquid (IL) electrolyte for catalyzing the reduction of NO to NH 3 with a maximal Faradaic efficiency of 69 % (−0.6 V vs RHE) and a peak yield rate of 388.3 μg h −1 mg cat. −1 (−0.7 V vs RHE), both of which are comparable to the best‐reported results. Moreover, the catalyst also shows stable NORR activity over 30 h and 6 cycles. Theoretical analyses further reveal that the P dopants in MoS 2 facilitate the activation and hydrogenation of NO. Besides, the employment of hydrophobic IL electrolyte also slows down the HER kinetics effectively.