Atomically Ordered RuGa Intermetallic Electrocatalyst Enables High‐Efficiency Nitrate‐to‐Ammonia Conversion

Abstract Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction represents a green and sustainable route for ammonia synthesis. However, its practical application is still hindered by unsatisfactory selectivity, activity, energy efficiency, and stability, especially under low nitrate concentrations. Here a carbon‐supported atomically ordered ruthenium‐gallium intermetallic compound (RuGa IMC/C) is reported, characterized by orderly isolated Ru sites surrounded by catalytically inert Ga, which can serve as a highly efficient cathodic catalyst for nitrate‐to‐ammonia reduction, achieving a remarkable ammonia yield rate of 31.73 mg h −1 mg Ru −1 and an ammonia Faradaic efficiency of 97.03% as well as half‐cell energy efficiency of 40.94% at an ultralow potential of −0.05 V under a low nitrate concentration of 2000 ppm (0.032 M). Impressively, the RuGa IMC/C catalyst exhibits excellent Faradaic efficiencies (>90%) across a wide range of nitrate concentrations from 0.01 to 0.1 M at 0 V and a superior stability. Theoretical calculations reveal that incorporating Ga into Ru causes a shift of the d ‐band toward the Fermi level, optimizing the adsorption and activation of N‐containing intermediates while suppressing the competing hydrogen evolution reaction on the RuGa IMC/C. Furthermore, the assembled zinc–nitrate battery displays a maximum power density of 52.74 mW cm −2 and a long‐term durability of over 300 h.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2025-11-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202524120
Primary Topic
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
Type
article
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article

Atomically Ordered RuGa Intermetallic Electrocatalyst Enables High‐Efficiency Nitrate‐to‐Ammonia Conversion

Kun‐Ze Xue, Bo Da, Jie Xu, Yongzhi Yu et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
article

Atomically Ordered RuGa Intermetallic Electrocatalyst Enables High‐Efficiency Nitrate‐to‐Ammonia Conversion

Kun‐Ze Xue, Bo Da, Jie Xu, Yongzhi Yu, Xiaozhi Su, Qiuling Jiang, Yufeng Xu, Wang Tang, Zhenyu Wu, Hao Li, Yunxia Chen, Shiqi Li, Haiyan Sun, Yu Cheng, Tingting Li
article en

Abstract

Abstract Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction represents a green and sustainable route for ammonia synthesis. However, its practical application is still hindered by unsatisfactory selectivity, activity, energy efficiency, and stability, especially under low nitrate concentrations. Here a carbon‐supported atomically ordered ruthenium‐gallium intermetallic compound (RuGa IMC/C) is reported, characterized by orderly isolated Ru sites surrounded by catalytically inert Ga, which can serve as a highly efficient cathodic catalyst for nitrate‐to‐ammonia reduction, achieving a remarkable ammonia yield rate of 31.73 mg h −1 mg Ru −1 and an ammonia Faradaic efficiency of 97.03% as well as half‐cell energy efficiency of 40.94% at an ultralow potential of −0.05 V under a low nitrate concentration of 2000 ppm (0.032 M). Impressively, the RuGa IMC/C catalyst exhibits excellent Faradaic efficiencies (>90%) across a wide range of nitrate concentrations from 0.01 to 0.1 M at 0 V and a superior stability. Theoretical calculations reveal that incorporating Ga into Ru causes a shift of the d ‐band toward the Fermi level, optimizing the adsorption and activation of N‐containing intermediates while suppressing the competing hydrogen evolution reaction on the RuGa IMC/C. Furthermore, the assembled zinc–nitrate battery displays a maximum power density of 52.74 mW cm −2 and a long‐term durability of over 300 h.

Advanced Functional MaterialsVol. 36(23)
Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute (CN), University of Science and Technology of China (CN), Wenzhou University (CN), Tohoku University (JP), National Institute for Materials Science (JP), Southern University of Science and Technology (CN), Advanced Institute of Materials Science (JP), Hefei National Center for Physical Sciences at Nanoscale (CN), Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 80%
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
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