Mechanistic Insights into the CO <sub>2</sub> ‐Assisted NO Electrochemical Deoxygenation and Hydrogenation
Electrocatalytic NO reduction to NH<sub>3</sub> holds significant potential for pollutant treatment and resource recovery. Herein, we report that the introduction of CO<sub>2</sub> on octahedral oxide-derived copper (o-OD-Cu) significantly enhances the electrochemical reduction of NO to NH<sub>3</sub>. With 10% NO in a CO<sub>2</sub> environment, the Faradaic efficiency for NH<sub>3</sub> production in a flow cell remains around 80% over a wide current density range from 20 to 250 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>. At a current density of 250 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>, the yield can reach up to 1403.9 µmol cm<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>-1</sup>, which is 3.71 times higher than without CO<sub>2</sub> and surpasses the performance reported in similar literature. Moreover, even at a low concentration of 1% NO, the Faradaic efficiency can reach a maximum of 70.11% at a current density of 20 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>. In situ investigations and theoretical calculations revealed that, in the coexistence of NO and CO<sub>2</sub>, the NO reduction pathway involves a unique route wherein *CO and *COOH, produced from CO<sub>2</sub> reduction, can respectively promote the deoxygenation of *NO and hydrogenation of *N by acquiring O atoms from *NO and providing H atoms for the sustained hydrogenation of *N, thereby accelerating the conversion process of NO to NH<sub>3</sub>.
Authors
- Yujing Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5420-7010)
- Guangtao Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5331-3754)
- Wenlei Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6110-993X)
- Pan Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5192-8509)
- Xuanzhao Lu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5991-8196)
- Xuanhao Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6177-6089)
- Yi Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0548-6073)
- Jian Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0217-3178)
- Liangyiqun Xie
Institutions
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse (CN)
- Zhejiang University (CN)
- Nanjing University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2025-04-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202504499
- Primary Topic
- Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Government of Jiangsu Province
- Nanjing University
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities