Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 10, 2026

Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles Supported on Carbon Nanotube with Doped Co and N Atoms and its Catalytic Applications in Hydrogen Production
Published on: December 6, 2021
Interfacial Tandem Catalysis Over a CuSn(OH)6/Co Heterostructure Enables Efficient Electroreduction of Nitrate to
Yuan-Yuan Hei1, Qing Chen2, Jie Gu2
1Department of Pharmacy, Fuzhou University Affiliated Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, China.
Abstract:
Electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (NO3 -RR) enables sustainable ammonia (NH3) production but is constrained by sluggish kinetics due to the high stability of NO3 - and insufficient hydrogenation of nitrogenous intermediates, where the initial NO3 - → NO2 - conversion is the rate-determining step (RDS). Herein, we report a CuSn(OH)6/Co heterostructure designed via an interfacial tandem-catalysis strategy to address both the kinetic bottleneck and downstream hydrogenation steps in a coordinated manner. In this architecture, CuSn(OH)6 activates NO3 - and then selectively catalyzes its conversion into *NO2, thereby overcoming the RDS limitation. Meanwhile, Co nanoparticles promote rapid H2O dissociation to generate abundant *H for subsequent hydrogenation reactions. Further investigations reveal that the heterointerface enables efficient directional transfer of *NO2 intermediate from CuSn(OH)6 to the Co component, promoting its complete reduction to NH3. Benefiting from this spatially and functionally integrated division of catalytic roles, the CuSn(OH)6/Co heterostructure exhibits a high NH3 yield of 64.51 µmol h- 1 mgCat - 1 and a selectivity of 92.28% at -0.7 V in 0.1 M NaSO4 containing 10 mM NaNO3, outperforming most reported catalysts. This work highlights a tandem-catalysis strategy that synchronously regulates RDS and hydrogenation pathways for sustainable NH3 production via NO3 -RR.
More Related Videos
10:57Synthesis and Performance Characterizations of Transition Metal Single Atom Catalyst for Electrochemical CO2 Reduction
Published on: April 10, 2018
09:22Synthesis and Performance Evaluations of ZnCoS/ZnCdS with Twin Crystal Structure for Multifunctional Redox Photocatalysis in Energy Applications
Published on: July 25, 2025
Related Concept Videos
Catalysis
Heterogeneous Catalysis
Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Nitration of Benzene
Electron Transport Chain: Complex III and IV
Electron Transport Chain: Complex I and II
ROS generation is regulated and maintained at moderate levels necessary...
Rate-Determining Steps
In a multistep reaction mechanism, one of the elementary steps progresses significantly slower than the others. This slowest step is called the rate-limiting step (or rate-determining step). A reaction cannot proceed faster than its slowest step, and hence, the rate-determining step limits the overall reaction rate.
The concept of rate-determining step can be understood from the analogy of a 4-lane freeway with a short-stretch of traffic-bottleneck caused due to...