Spatial Decoupling of Adsorption and Transformation Sites on Ag‐Cu Dual‐Single‐Atom Catalysts for Highly Selective Photocatalytic Nitrate‐to‐Ammonia Reduction

Abstract Photocatalytic nitrate (NO 3 – ) reduction to ammonia (NH 3 ) presents a sustainable solution for simultaneous NH 3 synthesis and wastewater remediation. However, achieving high selectivity is challenging, plagued by sluggish kinetics and parasitic side reactions. In this study, we rationally design a synergistic Ag‐Cu dual‐atom catalyst on g‐C 3 N 4 (AgCu‐CN) that embodies a spatially decoupled tandem scheme. We demonstrate that the oxophilic Cu 1 site serve as Lewis acid centers to efficiently capture and activate NO 3 – , before the crucial *NO intermediate is shuttled to adjacent Ag 1 site, which is intrinsically inert toward the hydrogen evolution reaction, act as dedicated hydrogenation center for rapid and deep *NO reduction. This atomic‐level synergy manifests in a state‐of‐the‐art performance, with AgCu‐CN delivering an impressive 98% NH 3 selectivity and a production rate of 630.5 µmol h −1 g −1 under visible light. In situ spectroscopic studies and theoretical calculations corroborate the tandem mechanism and the critical role of the Ag‐Cu dual sites in steering reaction selectivity. This study establishes a powerful tandem catalytic design principle to manage the selectivity challenges in complex multi‐proton/electron reactions.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2025-10-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.202516964
Primary Topic
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
Type
article
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article

Spatial Decoupling of Adsorption and Transformation Sites on Ag‐Cu Dual‐Single‐Atom Catalysts for Highly Selective Photocatalytic Nitrate‐to‐Ammonia Reduction

Jiarui Yang, Dieqing Zhang, Hexing Li, Zichao Lian et al.
Angewandte Chemie
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
article

Spatial Decoupling of Adsorption and Transformation Sites on Ag‐Cu Dual‐Single‐Atom Catalysts for Highly Selective Photocatalytic Nitrate‐to‐Ammonia Reduction

Jiarui Yang, Dieqing Zhang, Hexing Li, Zichao Lian, Hao Li, Di Luo, Yupeng Yang, S. Q. Tang
article en

Abstract

Abstract Photocatalytic nitrate (NO 3 – ) reduction to ammonia (NH 3 ) presents a sustainable solution for simultaneous NH 3 synthesis and wastewater remediation. However, achieving high selectivity is challenging, plagued by sluggish kinetics and parasitic side reactions. In this study, we rationally design a synergistic Ag‐Cu dual‐atom catalyst on g‐C 3 N 4 (AgCu‐CN) that embodies a spatially decoupled tandem scheme. We demonstrate that the oxophilic Cu 1 site serve as Lewis acid centers to efficiently capture and activate NO 3 – , before the crucial *NO intermediate is shuttled to adjacent Ag 1 site, which is intrinsically inert toward the hydrogen evolution reaction, act as dedicated hydrogenation center for rapid and deep *NO reduction. This atomic‐level synergy manifests in a state‐of‐the‐art performance, with AgCu‐CN delivering an impressive 98% NH 3 selectivity and a production rate of 630.5 µmol h −1 g −1 under visible light. In situ spectroscopic studies and theoretical calculations corroborate the tandem mechanism and the critical role of the Ag‐Cu dual sites in steering reaction selectivity. This study establishes a powerful tandem catalytic design principle to manage the selectivity challenges in complex multi‐proton/electron reactions.

Angewandte ChemieVol. 138(1)
University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (CN), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN), Shanghai Normal University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 83%
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
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Spatial Decoupling of Adsorption and Transformation Sites on Ag‐Cu Dual‐Single‐Atom Catalysts for Highly Selective Photocatalytic Nitrate‐to‐Ammonia Reduction — Jiarui Yang, Dieqing Zhang, et al. · Angewandte Chemie (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS