Revealing the origin of activity in phthalocyanine-based dual-metal sites towards electrochemical nitric oxide reduction.

Coordinated ligands play crucial roles in tuning the electrochemical nitrate reduction performance of phthalocyanine (Pc)-based dual atom catalysts. With the assistance of axial O ligands, fast NO to NH conversion can be realized on O-Ni-Pc and O-Cu-Pc. A 2-N product, NO, can be synthesized on Co-Pc, Cr-Pc, O-Co-Pc, and O-Fe-Pc through N-N coupling with high NO coverage. Δ can be identified as a valid descriptor to support rational M-Pc design.