Cu‐Doped Activated Co <sub>3</sub> O <sub>4</sub> : Tandem Site Efficient Electrocatalytic Reduction of Nitrate to Ammonia
Abstract The electroreduction of nitrate (NO 3 − ) into ammonia (NH 3 ) presents a promising avenue for sustainable ammonia synthesis. In this study, we construct electrocatalyst with tandem sites that integrates highly dispersed Cu with Co 3 O 4 by self‐sacrifice strategy using MOF as a template, which significantly improves NH 3 production. The resulting Cu–Co 3 O 4 catalyst achieves an NH 3 yield rate of 7.25 mg h −1 cm −2 and Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 95%. Mechanism research shows that Cu enhances NO 3 − adsorption, the synergy between Cu and Co 3 O 4 increases the electrochemical active area, reduces charge transfer resistance, and inhibits hydrogen evolution reaction. The confinement effect of Co 3 O 4 effectively ensures the stability of Cu 2+ in the electrocatalytic reduction reaction process. This work offers valuable insights into the tandem NO 3 − reduction pathway in heterostructures, providing a foundation for optimizing catalysts and advancing sustainable NH 3 synthesis.
Authors
- Guoqiang Chu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8256-3947)
- Lei-Lei Qian
- Haifeng Qi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9387-1195)
- Shanshan Niu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3426-7099)
- Yin‐yuan Wang
- Yingluo Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0780-6413)
- Ji Yang
Institutions
- Jiangsu Second Normal University (CN)
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (CN)
- Cardiff University (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ChemistrySelect
- Published
- 2025-10-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/slct.202504759
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.78