Controlled Growth of Donor-Bridge-Acceptor Interface for High-Performance Ammonia Production

The intrinsic catalytic activity and active sites of the catalyst originate from the interface efficient charge transfer. A 2D graphdiyne (GDY) layer grown on the surface of zeolitic imidazolate framework nanocubes (ZIFNC@GDY) forms a novel structure of a perfect donor-bridge-acceptor interface, in which the ZIFNC and GDY act as electron donor and acceptor, respectively, linked by the sp-C-Co and sp-C-N bonds as bridges. Importantly, the as-prepared catalyst exhibits intrinsically high reactivity for ammonia production through the nitrate reduction reaction (NtRR) in neutral aqueous solutions at ambient pressures and temperatures. The NtRR performance of the as-prepared electrocatalyst is confirmed by the high NH3 yield rate (Y-NH3) of 0.40 +/- 0.02 mmol h(-1) cm(-2) at potential of -0.745V versus RHE and Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 98.51 +/- 0.75%, as well as the excellent stability. We show that such unique interfacial structures can accelerate the efficient electron transfers between the zeolitic imidazolate framework nanocubes (ZIFNC) core and GDY shell, enrich the electron density on the GDY surface, and thereby promote fast redox switching, creating more active sites, and improving the catalytic performances.

Automated summary

This study discovered a novel catalyst structure with efficient charge transfer at the interface, enabling high catalytic activity and stability. The catalyst demonstrated high efficiency for ammonia production through nitrate reduction reaction, with excellent yields and stability. This finding has significant implications for catalytic research and potential applications.