Electrocatalytic nitrite reduction reaction (NO2−RR) to synthesize ammonia (NH3) has been constrained by sluggish kinetics of water dissociation and the weak adsorption of nitrite. In this work, we develop an in-situ reconstruction strategy that transforms Ni-doped BiO2−x (NiBiO2−x) to Bi/NiBiO2−x, which exhibits excellent activity and selectivity for NO2−RR to synthesize NH3. Diverse ex-situ and in-situ characterizations reveal potential-driven structural transformation from NiBiO2−x to Bi/NiBiO2−x, which features dual Ni2+-Bi0 active sites. The Ni2+ site is able to reduce the water dissociation barrier from 0.79 to 0.41 eV, while concurrently the Bi0 site can strengthen NO2− adsorption to promote *NO2H intermediate formation. Consequently, the in-situ constructed Bi/NiBiO2−x catalyst with Ni2+-Bi0 catalytic pairs enable an excellent NO2−RR performance, achieving a NH3 Faradaic efficiency (FENH3) of 94.5% at −0.6 V vs. RHE. The present study opens the new direction to in-situ construct high-performance electroreduction catalysts for small molecule synthesis.
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Nano Research 2026, 19(2): 94908176
Published: 06 January 2026
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