Heterostructure‐Derived Heterovalent Fe(OH)<sub>2</sub>/Fe Pair Sites: Tuning Adsorption of Intermediates and Enhancing Utilization of Atomic <sup>*</sup>H for Efficient Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia
Abstract Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction (NO3RR) to valued ammonia is an ideal supplementary route to the Haber–Bosch method and a strategy for the removal and utilization of nitrate pollutants. However, due to the fact that NO3RR goes through a complicated multi‐electron/proton transfer, catalysts with monovalent metal sites are difficult to tackle multitasking that it involves, leading to unsatisfactory nitrate conversion efficiency and ammonia selectivity. Herein, heterovalent Fe(OH) 2 /Fe pair sites supported onto carbon nanotubes (Fe(OH) 2 /Fe@CNTs) are presented via electrochemical reconstruction of CNTs‐supporting FeS/Fe 2 C heterostructure. Fe(OH) 2 /Fe@CNTs exhibits a high NH 3 yield rate of 0.67 mmol h −1 cm −2 with a FE of 95.1% at −0.4 V versus RHE, which is mainly attributed to the regulated electronic structure and cooperation of heterovalent iron pair sites. Meanwhile, the adsorption of nitrogen‐containing species is adjusted and the utilization of * H is enhanced. Moreover, a balanced content of Fe(OH) 2 and Fe creates “buffering effect” to maintain its activity and stability. Theoretical calculations combined with in situ FTIR and in situ Raman spectra reveal a novel multiple reaction pathway on heterovalent Fe(OH) 2 /Fe pair sites, entirely different from a single pathway on monovalent Fe or Fe(OH) 2 . Clearly, this study offers a creative strategy for the design of advanced catalysts with multivalent metal sites.
Authors
- Runlin Xia
- Wei Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7287-8523)
- Wenjing Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7881-5838)
- Yuping Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0184-2173)
- Yuxuan Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1889-747X)
- Qingxin Guan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6339-6741)
Institutions
- Nankai University (CN)
- State Key Laboratory of Elemental Organic Chemistry
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Functional Materials
- Published
- 2025-03-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202501079
- Citations
- 9
- Primary Topic
- Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.50
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities