1. Efficient tandem electroreduction of nitrate into ammonia through coupling Cu single atoms with adjacent Co3O4.
- Author
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Liu, Yan, Wei, Jie, Yang, Zhengwu, Zheng, Lirong, Zhao, Jiankang, Song, Zhimin, Zhou, Yuhan, Cheng, Jiajie, Meng, Junyang, Geng, Zhigang, and Zeng, Jie
- Subjects
COPPER ,ELECTROLYTIC reduction ,ATOMS ,CATALYST poisoning ,BINDING energy ,DENITRIFICATION - Abstract
The nitrate (NO
3 − ) electroreduction into ammonia (NH3 ) represents a promising approach for sustainable NH3 synthesis. However, the variation of adsorption configurations renders great difficulties in the simultaneous optimization of binding energy for the intermediates. Though the extensively reported Cu-based electrocatalysts benefit NO3 − adsorption, one of the key issues lies in the accumulation of nitrite (NO2 − ) due to its weak adsorption, resulting in the rapid deactivation of catalysts and sluggish kinetics of subsequent hydrogenation steps. Here we report a tandem electrocatalyst by combining Cu single atoms catalysts with adjacent Co3 O4 nanosheets to boost the electroreduction of NO3 − to NH3 . The obtained tandem catalyst exhibits a yield rate for NH3 of 114.0 mg NH 3 h−1 cm−2 , which exceeds the previous values for the reported Cu-based catalysts. Mechanism investigations unveil that the combination of Co3 O4 regulates the adsorption configuration of NO2 − and strengthens the binding with NO2 − , thus accelerating the electroreduction of NO3 − to NH3 . An optimal catalyst for nitrate electroreduction should satisfy the simultaneously optimized adsorption of intermediates. Here, the authors report a tandem electrocatalyst by combining Cu single atoms with Co3 O4 nanosheets, enhancing the binding with NO2 − , thus promoting nitrate electroreduction to NH3 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2024
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