On March 12th, 2024.,Zhao Wei's researchgrouphave publishedresearch paper titled"Uniting Synergistic Effect of Single-Ni Site and Electric Field of B- Bridged-N for Boosted Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia" in Small.Recently, the Zhao Wei research group from Shenzhen University designed an electrochemically active carrier consisting of nickel single atoms on a boron and nitrogen-doped graphene (BNG) substrate. By employing a boron-bridging strategy to adjust the atomic coordination structure, they enhanced the performance of nitrate reduction. Theoretical calculations demonstrated that compared to nitrogen-doped graphene, the BNG carrier possesses ionic properties and a better electric field effect, facilitating improved adsorption of nitrates and favoring the reduction of nitrate ions

As shown in the figure, the loading of Ni single atoms on the BNG carrier as catalytic sites creates an electric field due to the locally polarized B-N bonds, promoting the adsorption of nitrates on the NiSA@BNG catalyst. This results in a significant increase in the faradaic efficiency (FE) for ammonia production, reaching 95%. The yield is double that of the ammonia produced by the catalyst NiSA@NG without the electric field effect.

Prof. Wei Zhao is the corresponding author,The first author is Dr.Saira, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University. The Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, is the sole correspondinginstitution.

Article link：https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202310082