Enhanced electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia with nanostructured MoC on carbon nanotube-reduced graphene oxide hybrid support

The electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (NO 3 − RR) is emerging as a promising method for ammonia production under ambient conditions while simultaneously addressing nitrate pollution. Due to the complexity of NO 3 − RR, which involves multi-electron/proton transfer and competes with the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), the development of efficient electrocatalysts with high activity and stability is crucial. In this study, we report the use of Mo 2 C nanoparticles homogeneously dispersed on a carbon nanotube-reduced graphene oxide hybrid support (Mo 2 C/CNT-RGO) as an effective electrocatalyst for NO 3 − RR. The three-dimensional CNT-RGO hybrid provides a large surface area for electrolyte contact, enhanced electrical conductivity, and prevents the aggregation of Mo 2 C nanoparticles. Consequently, the Mo 2 C/CNT-RGO electrocatalyst demonstrated high NO 3 − RR performance, achieving a maximum NH 3 production rate of 5.23 mg h −1 cm −2 with a faradaic efficiency of 95.9%. Mo 2 C/CNT-RGO also exhibited excellent long-term stability during consecutive cycling tests. This work presents a promising strategy for developing high-performance and durable NO 3 − RR electrocatalysts. Mo 2 C nanoparticles dispersed on CNT-RGO hybrid support (Mo 2 C/CNT-RGO) serve as an effective electrocatalyst for NO 3 − RR, showing high performance due to the synergistic interaction between the active Mo 2 C sites and the CNT-RGO hybrid support.