Atomic Co─P Catalytic Pair Drives Efficient Electrochemical Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia

Abstract Electrochemically reducing nitrate (NO 3 − ), a common water pollutant, to valuable ammonia (NH 3 ) offers a green, sustainable, and decentralized route for ammonia synthesis. Electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (NO 3 − RR) involves two crucial reaction steps: nitrate deoxygenation followed by nitrite hydrogenation; in particular, the nitrite hydrogenation reaction is the rate‐determining step (RDS) for NO 3 − RR. In this work, an atomically dispersed cobalt‐phosphorus (Co─P) catalytic pair (CP) with strong electronic coupling is reported. The Co site in Co─P CP effectively activates NO 3 − , while the P site in Co─P CP facilitates water dissociation to release H + , synergistically enhancing the thermodynamic and kinetic performance of electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia.