Amorphous Ni<sub>3</sub>B Promotes Electroreduction of Nitrate to Ammonia

The electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia (NRA) can address nitrogen cycle imbalance and high carbon emissions; however, the intense competition of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) restricts the rate of NH<sub>3</sub> production. Herein, amorphous Ni<sub>3</sub>B (a-Ni<sub>3</sub>B) is designed to balance the NRA and HER. The NH<sub>3</sub> yield of a-Ni<sub>3</sub>B surpasses those of pure Ni and NiO, which is attributed to the preferential adsorption of NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup> on the B and Ni sites of a-Ni<sub>3</sub>B for the NRA reaction, greatly inhibiting the HER. Furthermore, the a-Ni<sub>3</sub>B possesses advantages in NRA performance compared to crystalline Ni<sub>3</sub>B (c-Ni<sub>3</sub>B) due to more active hydrogen (*H) generated during the catalytic process. The *H in the NRA process on a-Ni<sub>3</sub>B is verified by the electron spin resonance technique. The NRA mechanism is comprehensively discussed based on the results of <i>in situ</i> characterization and density functional theory calculations. The a-Ni<sub>3</sub>B can enhance NH<sub>3</sub> production by inhibiting HER, which provides ideas for sustainable NH<sub>3</sub> synthesis.

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Publication Details

Journal
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Published
2024-11-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c14621
Citations
4
Primary Topic
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.43

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article

Amorphous Ni3B Promotes Electroreduction of Nitrate to Ammonia

Yue Cao, Shengbo Yuan, Min Luo, Xinyan Wang et al.
4 citations
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
0.43
article

Amorphous Ni3B Promotes Electroreduction of Nitrate to Ammonia

Yue Cao, Shengbo Yuan, Min Luo, Xinyan Wang, Xiaoman Li, Hai Yan
article en
4 citations

Abstract

The electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia (NRA) can address nitrogen cycle imbalance and high carbon emissions; however, the intense competition of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) restricts the rate of NH<sub>3</sub> production. Herein, amorphous Ni<sub>3</sub>B (a-Ni<sub>3</sub>B) is designed to balance the NRA and HER. The NH<sub>3</sub> yield of a-Ni<sub>3</sub>B surpasses those of pure Ni and NiO, which is attributed to the preferential adsorption of NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup> on the B and Ni sites of a-Ni<sub>3</sub>B for the NRA reaction, greatly inhibiting the HER. Furthermore, the a-Ni<sub>3</sub>B possesses advantages in NRA performance compared to crystalline Ni<sub>3</sub>B (c-Ni<sub>3</sub>B) due to more active hydrogen (*H) generated during the catalytic process. The *H in the NRA process on a-Ni<sub>3</sub>B is verified by the electron spin resonance technique. The NRA mechanism is comprehensively discussed based on the results of <i>in situ</i> characterization and density functional theory calculations. The a-Ni<sub>3</sub>B can enhance NH<sub>3</sub> production by inhibiting HER, which provides ideas for sustainable NH<sub>3</sub> synthesis.

ACS Applied Materials & InterfacesVol. 16(47)
Ningxia University (CN)
Ningxia University, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Ningxia Province
Clean water and sanitation
Openalex Percentile: Top 47%
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
0.43
DOISourceOpenAlex
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