Regulating charge distribution of Cu₃PdN nanocrystals for nitrate electroreduction to ammonia

As-synthesized Cu₃PdN nanocrystals displayed high faradaic efficiency and selectivity for nitrate-to-ammonia conversion. The excellent performances can be attributed to the charge redistribution in Cu₃PdN as a result of modulations of the electronic structures of Pd and Cu atoms, which altered the adsorption activation energy of the intermediates during the nitrate reduction reaction process.