High-efficiency NO electroreduction to NH3 over honeycomb carbon nanofiber at ambient conditions

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.02.074
• Publication Date: 2022-02-18T20:52:34Z
• Authors: Ling Ouyang; Qiang Zhou; Jie Liang; Longcheng Zhang; Luchao Yue; Zerong Li; Jun Li; Yongsong Luo; Qian Liu; Na Li; Bo Tang; Abdulmohsen Ali A...; Feng Gong; Xuping Sun
• Keywords: Carbon fibers; Honeycomb

Electrocatalytic NO reduction is a promising technology for ambient NO removal with simultaneous production of highly value-added NH3. Herein, we report that honeycomb carbon nanofiber coated on carbon paper acts as an efficient metal-free catalyst for ambient electroreduction of NO to NH3. In 0.2 M Na2SO4 solution, such catalyst achieves an NH3 yield of 22.35 μmol h-1 cm-2 with a high Faradaic efficiency of up to 88.33%. Impressively, it also shows excellent stability for 10-h continuous electrolysis. Theoretical calculations reveal that the most active center of functional groups is -OH group for NO reduction with a low energy barrier (ΔG of 0.29 eV) for the potential-determining step (*NO + H → *HNO).