Laser‐Programmed Spatial Relay Catalysis on Co─Ag Dual Heterojunctions for Efficient Nitrate‐to‐Ammonia Conversion via Migratory *NO <sub>2</sub> Shuttling
Electrocatalytic nitrate (NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup>) reduction to ammonia (NH<sub>3</sub>) represents a sustainable strategy for wastewater treatment and green NH<sub>3</sub> production; however, its efficiency is limited by sluggish reaction kinetics and the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, we propose a laser-programmed spatial relay catalysis strategy mediated by migratory *NO<sub>2</sub> intermediate on Co─Ag dual heterojunctions. Site-selective laser irradiation of Ag-predeposited Co foil generates spatially segregated interfaces, where hexagonal close-packed (hcp)-Co/face-centered cubic (fcc)-Co heterojunctions facilitate thermodynamically favorable NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup> deoxygenation, and Ag/hcp-Co interfaces promote kinetically enhanced NO<sub>2</sub> <sup>-</sup> protonation. Operando spectroscopic analysis, combined with electrochemical differential mass spectrometry (DEMS), confirms the migratory relay mechanism involving *NO<sub>2</sub> transport between catalytic sites. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that interfacial charge redistribution enables distinct catalytic functions at interface sites. The phase-transformation-formed hcp-Co/fcc-Co heterojunctions enhance NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup> adsorption and reduce deoxygenation barriers, whereas Ag/hcp-Co interfaces suppress HER and promote *NO hydrogenation by lowering the rate-determining *NO→*NOH barrier to 0.25 eV via Fermi-level d-band engineering. This collaborative spatial design reaches 94.8% ± 3.4% Faradaic efficiency (FE) for NH<sub>3</sub> in nitrate-to-ammonia electroreduction at -0.4 V (versus RHE), with 92.5% activity retention over 50 cycles. It highlights the promise of interface-driven relay catalysis in complex electrochemical systems and enables scalable electrode fabrication.
Authors
- Yuping Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0833-1205)
- J. Geng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6658-5329)
- Sihan Ji (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7779-8901)
Institutions
- Anhui Jianzhu University (CN)
- Hefei University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2025-09-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202515393
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.17