Constructing highly efficient electrocatalysts via interface manipulation and structural design to facilitate rapid electron transfer in electrocatalytic nitrate-to-ammonia conversion is crucial to attaining superior NH3 yield rate. Here, a Mott-Schottky type electrocatalyst of Co/In2O3 with a continuous fiber structure has been designed to boost the electrocatalytic nitrate-to-ammonia performance. The optimized Co/In2O3-1 catalyst exhibits an impressive NH3 yield rate of 70.1 mg cm-2 h-1 at –0.8 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), along with a NH3 faradaic efficiency (FE) of 93.34% at 0 V vs. RHE, greatly outperforming the single-component Co and In2O3 samples. The yield rate of the Co/In2O3-1 is also superior to most currently reported Co-based catalysts and heterostructured ones. Evidences from experiments and theoretical results confirm the formation of Mott-Schottky heterojunction, which achieves a Co site enriched with electrons, coupled with In2O3 facet enriched with holes, inducing an electron redistribution to promote the utilization of electroactive sites. Consequently, the reaction energy barrier for nitrate-to-ammonia is significantly reduced, further enhancing its yield efficiency.

中文翻译：

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通过 Mott-Schottky 设计增强电催化硝酸盐制氨性能以诱导电子再分布


通过界面操作和结构设计构建高效的电催化剂，以促进电催化硝酸盐到氨转化中的快速电子转移，对于获得卓越的 NH3 产率至关重要。这里设计了一种具有连续纤维结构的 Co/In2O3 Mott-Schottky 型电催化剂，以提高电催化硝酸盐制氨的性能。与可逆氢电极 （RHE） 相比，优化后的 Co/In2O3-1 催化剂在 –0.8 V 下的 NH3 产率高达 70.1 mg cm-2 h-1，在 0 V 与 RHE 相比，NH3 法拉第效率 （FE） 为 93.34%，大大优于单组分 Co 和 In2O3 样品。Co/In2O3-1 的产率也优于目前报道的大多数 Co 基催化剂和异质结构催化剂。实验证据和理论结果证实了 Mott-Schottky 异质结的形成，它实现了富含电子的 Co 位点，再加上富含空穴的 In2O3 面，诱导电子重新分布，促进电活性位点的利用。因此，硝酸盐制氨的反应能垒显著降低，进一步提高了其产率效率。