Liquid Metal Dynamic Interface Enabled Reverse Hydrogen Spillover Boosting Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction
Abstract Electrochemical nitrate reduction (NO 3 − RR) to ammonia involves intricate and sluggish proton‐coupled electron transfer (PCET) pathways, the active hydrogen (H*) flux regulation are crucial for its efficiency. Here, we demonstrate a liquid metal‐based catalyst, Co@Ga, featuring a dynamic liquid Ga core–solid Co shell interface under operando conditions. This unique architecture enables an unprecedented reverse hydrogen spillover mechanism, where H* generated via facile water dissociation on liquid Ga support spontaneously migrates to adjacent metallic Co for efficient hydrogenation of adsorbed nitrate/intermediates. Moreover, the strong electron donation from Ga to Co also accelerates the rate‐determining NO 3 − → NO 2 − step through a three‐step relay mechanism. Consequently, the synergy of these effects endows Co@Ga with exceptional NO 3 − RR performance, achieving an ultra‐high NH 3 yield rate of 51 mol h −1 g Co −1 , Faraday efficiency of 94.5% at −0.3 V versus RHE, and outstanding stability over 400 h at 1 A cm −2 in a membrane electrode. This work presents the concept of dynamic liquid‐solid‐liquid interfaces for reversing conventional hydrogen spillover, offering a universal strategy to regulate multi‐proton/electron transfers in complex electrocatalytic reactions.
Authors
- Shenghua Ye (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3297-674X)
- Xiaopeng Han (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7557-7133)
- Yixiao Zou
- Wei Zeng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8324-2061)
- Wenda Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6827-9226)
- Zanyu Chen
- Jia Ding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7258-9430)
- Chen Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6258-5524)
- Wenbin Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3082-1059)
Institutions
- Tianjin University (CN)
- Shenzhen University (CN)
- Tianjin Energy Investment Group (China) (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie
- Published
- 2025-10-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.202516997
- Primary Topic
- Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00