Improved nitrate-to-ammonia electrocatalysis through concerted proton-coupled electron transfer

We used phytate coordination on a Cu surface to overcome the kinetic bottleneck for proton adsorption/activation through a concerted proton-coupled electron transfer pathway; this leads to one order of magnitude activity enhancement for nitrate-to-ammonia electrocatalysis. Phytate coordination effectively accelerates proton adsorption/activation kinetics through a concerted proton-coupled electron transfer pathway. This leads to one order of magnitude activity enhancement for nitrate-to-ammonia electrocatalysis.