Effective Nitrate Electroconversion to Ammonia Using an Entangled CoO/Graphene Nanoribbon Catalyst.

There has been huge interest among chemical scientists in the electrochemical reduction of nitrate (NO) to ammonia (NH) due to the useful application of NH in nitrogen fertilizers and fuel. To conduct such a complex reduction reaction, which involves eight electrons and eight protons, one needs to develop high-performance (and stable) electrocatalysts that favor the formation of reaction intermediates that are selective toward ammonia production. In the present study, we developed and applied CoO/graphene nanoribbon (GNR) electrocatalysts with excellent properties for the effective reduction of NO to NH, where NH yield rate of 42.

Exploring the Potential of Heteroatom-Doped Graphene Nanoribbons as a Catalyst for Oxygen Reduction.

In this study, we created a series of N, S, and P-doped and co-doped carbon catalysts using a single graphene nanoribbon (GNR) matrix and thoroughly evaluated the impact of doping on ORR activity and selectivity in acidic, neutral, and alkaline conditions. The results obtained showed no significant changes in the GNR structure after the doping process, though changes were observed in the surface chemistry in view of the heteroatom insertion and oxygen depletion. Of all the dopants investigated, nitrogen (mainly in the form of pyrrolic-N and graphitic-N) was the most easily inserted and detected in the carbon matrix.