Synergistic alloying-Phosphidation engineering of CuSn/Cu3P Heterostructures for high-efficiency nitrate Electroreduction to Ammonia

The electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction can convert environmental pollutants into high value−added ammonia under ambient temperature and pressure, providing a green pathway for sustainable ammonia synthesis and nitrate wastewater purification. Herein, a novel CuSn/Cu 3 P@NF composite catalyst is deposited on nickel foam via the electrodeposition strategy, which can be utilized for nitrate reduction reaction to ammonia. The designed CuSn/Cu 3 P@NF catalyst delivers a remarkable ammonia yield rate of 12.9 mg h −1  cm −2 and a Faradaic efficiency of 95.4%. A series of characterizations and density functional theory calculations reveal that the synergistic introduction of Sn and P elements modulates the electronic structure of catalytic active sites, promotes water dissociation to generate abundant adsorbed hydrogen species, and reduces the free energy barrier along the nitrate reduction reaction pathway, thereby enhancing the catalytic performance. This work demonstrates an effective strategy to boost nitrate reduction reaction performance via synergistic alloying-phosphorization regulation of components and interfacial structures, and provides a new insight into the rational design of high-efficiency catalysts for nitrate reduction reaction to ammonia.