Palladium metallene for nitric oxide electroreduction to ammonia

Abstract

We demonstrate Pd metallene as an efficient catalyst for electrocatalytic NO reduction to NH₃ (NORR), showing the maximum NO-to-NH₃ faradaic efficiency of 89.6% with a corresponding NH₃ yield rate of 112.5 μmol h⁻¹ cm⁻² at −0.3 V in neutral media. Theoretical calculations unveil that NO can be effectively activated and hydrogenated on the hcp site of Pd through a mixed pathway with a low energy barrier.