confirms that the produced ammonia originates exclusively from nitrate reduction. DFT calculations reveal a multi-step eight-electron reduction pathway with the NO-to-NHO transformation as the potential-determining step. This work introduces a new design paradigm for COF electrocatalysts, where pendant aldehydes within the framework serve as molecular handles for water-mediated proton transport, enabling efficient nitrate reduction under alkaline conditions, without external acidification or metal catalysts.
Das et al. (Thu,) studied this question.