A defect engineered p-block SnS2-x catalyst for efficient electrocatalytic NO reduction to NH3

Electrocatalytic NO reduction to NH3 (NORR) has emerged as an attractive approach for simultaneously realizing NO abatement and ammonia generation. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time that p-block Sn-based materials are promising NORR catalysts. A defect engineering strategy is employed to develop a SnS2-x catalyst enriched with S-vacancy (V-S) defects. SnS2-x delivers an exceptional NH3-faradaic efficiency of 90.3% with an NH3 yield rate of 78.6 mu mol h(-1) cm(-2), outperforming most reported d-block NORR catalysts. Theoretical computations unveil that the high NORR performance of SnS2-x arises from the active Sn-V-S sites which can selectively activate NO and reduce the energy barriers of the NORR pathway.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the potential of p-block Sn-based materials as NORR catalysts and develops a SnS2-x catalyst using a defect engineering strategy. The catalyst exhibits exceptional NH3-faradaic efficiency and NH3 yield rate, and theoretical computations reveal that its high NORR performance is attributed to the active Sn-V-S sites.