p-d Orbital Hybridization in Amorphous CuTe Porous Nanonets for Boosting Electrocatalytic Green Ammonia Production

Ammonia (NH3), the second most produced chemical in the world, is predominantly utilized in fertilizer production to underpin modern agriculture and has recently attracted interest as an energy-dense source of renewable energy. Herein, an amorphous CuTe porous nanonets (CuTe PNs) catalyst with p-d orbital hybridization was designed and prepared for NH3 synthesis via the nitrite reduction reaction. The porous and amorphous structure of CuTe PNs provides sufficient channels for molecular penetration and enhances active site accessibility through its abundant defects and vacancies, facilitating electrochemical reactions. The CuTe PNs exhibit excellent nitrite reduction reaction performance (NH3 yield: 633.7 μg h–1 mgcat–1, Faradaic efficiency: 91.41%, NH3 selectivity: 92.2%). This work describes a powerful pathway for the fabrication of p-d orbital hybrid amorphous porous nanonets catalysts and also provides a new possibility for the electrochemical synthesis of NH3.