Bimetallic Cu<sub>11</sub>Ag<sub>3</sub> Nanotips for Ultrahigh Yield Rate of Nitrate‐to‐Ammonium

Electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonia (NRA) offers a sustainable approach for NH<sub>3</sub> production and NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup> removal but suffers from low NH<sub>3</sub> yield rate (<1.20 mmol h<sup>-1</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup>). We present bimetallic Cu<sub>11</sub>Ag<sub>3</sub> nanotips with tailored local environment, which achieve an ultrahigh NH<sub>3</sub> yield rate of 2.36 mmol h<sup>-1</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup> at a low applied potential of -0.33 V vs. RHE, a high Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 98.8 %, and long-term operation stability at 1800 mg-N L<sup>-1</sup> NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup>, outperforming most of the recently reported catalysts. At a NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup> concentration as low as 15 mg-N L<sup>-1</sup>, it still delivers a high FE of 86.9 % and an NH<sub>3</sub> selectivity of 93.8 %. Finite-element method and density functional theory calculations reveal that the Cu<sub>11</sub>Ag<sub>3</sub> exhibits reduced adsorption energy barrier of *N intermediates, favorable water dissociation for *H generation and high energy barrier for H<sub>2</sub> formation, while its tip-enhanced enrichment promoting NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup> accumulation.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Published
2024-10-02
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202415259
Citations
37
Primary Topic
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.95

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article

Bimetallic Cu11Ag3 Nanotips for Ultrahigh Yield Rate of Nitrate‐to‐Ammonium

Tao Hu, Hongbin Yang, Chunxian Guo, Ruguang Ma et al.
37 citations
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
3.95
article

Bimetallic Cu11Ag3 Nanotips for Ultrahigh Yield Rate of Nitrate‐to‐Ammonium

Tao Hu, Hongbin Yang, Chunxian Guo, Ruguang Ma, Changhong Wang, Chang Ming Li, Feng Du, Zhengyang Liu, Dandan Xing, Quanxiao Peng
article en
37 citations

Abstract

Electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonia (NRA) offers a sustainable approach for NH<sub>3</sub> production and NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup> removal but suffers from low NH<sub>3</sub> yield rate (<1.20 mmol h<sup>-1</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup>). We present bimetallic Cu<sub>11</sub>Ag<sub>3</sub> nanotips with tailored local environment, which achieve an ultrahigh NH<sub>3</sub> yield rate of 2.36 mmol h<sup>-1</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup> at a low applied potential of -0.33 V vs. RHE, a high Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 98.8 %, and long-term operation stability at 1800 mg-N L<sup>-1</sup> NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup>, outperforming most of the recently reported catalysts. At a NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup> concentration as low as 15 mg-N L<sup>-1</sup>, it still delivers a high FE of 86.9 % and an NH<sub>3</sub> selectivity of 93.8 %. Finite-element method and density functional theory calculations reveal that the Cu<sub>11</sub>Ag<sub>3</sub> exhibits reduced adsorption energy barrier of *N intermediates, favorable water dissociation for *H generation and high energy barrier for H<sub>2</sub> formation, while its tip-enhanced enrichment promoting NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup> accumulation.

Angewandte Chemie International EditionVol. 64(3)
Shanghai University (CN), Soochow University (TW), Suzhou University of Science and Technology (CN), Soochow University (CN), Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key Research and Development Program of China
Responsible consumption and production
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
3.95
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