Cu doping enhances electroreduction of nitrate to ammonia over NbS₂ hierarchical nanosheets

In this work, we developed a three-dimensional nanosheet-like Cu doped NbS₂ structure (Cu-NbS₂) that not only facilitates the exposure of more active sites on both the edges and basal planes but also increases the solid-liquid contact area. Moreover, the distinct difference in adsorption energy between the Cu sites and NO₃^- reactants enhances the interaction between Cu and NO₃^-. Consequently, the Cu-NbS₂ catalyst achieves a maximum faradaic efficiency of 91.2% and an impressive NH₃ yield rate of 230.9 µmol h^-1 mg^-1. This study provides a promising strategy for efficient nitrate remediation and environmentally friendly NH₃ synthesis.