(532eg) Single-Atom Alloy Pd/Pt in Fe As Catalysts for Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction

As the major pollutant in the industrial and agricultural waste water, nitrate can be electrochemically converted to ammonia and nitrogen. This route is green for ammonia synthesis and can substitute the Haber-Bosch process. However, due to the existence of other reaction pathways, it is still challenging to find catalysts with high ammonia selectivity.

Here, we report a selective nitrate reduction to ammonia on single-atom alloy catalysts of Pd/Pt single-sites in a metal host (Fe). As a cost-effective transition metal, Fe is employed here as a host metal to separate continuous Pd/Pt ensembles. These single-atom alloy catalysts show impressive performance in electrochemical nitrate reduction, with high Faradaic efficiency and ammonia selectivity.