Abstract:
Utilizing nitrate (NO
3−) as the nitrogen source to produce ammonia can effectively remove NO
3− pollutant while obtaining valuable ammonia (NH
3), and the understanding of the mechanisms is essential for the design of new catalysts. In this work, by using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the electroreduction mechanisms of nitrate reduction reaction (NO
3RR) on transition metal single atom supported on 3N-coordinated N-doped graphene (TM/N
3-G) are systematically investigated. It is found that the protonation of *OH acts as the potential determing steps except for the traditionally considered *NO
3/*NO/*NO
2 protonation step and the desorption of water may play an important role for NO
3RR on some TM/N
3-G. By considering the stability of single-atom catalyst (SAC), the preferential adsorption of NO
3− larger than H and H
2O, the limiting potential of whole NO
3RR, the selectivity toward NH
3, V (Mn, Os)/pyrrolic-N
3-G and Mn (Ru, Ir)/pyridinic-N
3-G are screened out as potential SACs for NO
3RR. This work provides an understanding of the NO
3RR mechanism and highlights several promising NO
3RR catalysts based on the TM/N
3-G system.