Liquid Metal‐Enabled Rapid Structure Ordering of Intermetallic Nanocrystals with Electronic Modulation
Abstract p ‐block metal (e.g., Ga)‐based intermetallic nanocrystals with atomically ordered d ‐ p hybrid structures are promising for electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction (NO 3 RR). However, traditional synthesis requires prolonged annealing, causing high energy consumption, Ostwald ripening/elemental segregation, and undermining active‐site uniformity/ordered architectures. Here, a rapid thermal diffusion‐assisted heating method (1 min) enabled by low‐enthalpy liquid Ga as a dynamic reaction reservoir is presented, which boosts exothermic alloying thermodynamics and facilitates atomic‐level Ru/Ga/In intermixing for rapid synthesis of composition‐controlled, small‐sized (8.7 ± 2.0 nm) In‐doped RuGa intermetallic catalysts (In‐RuGa IMCs). XAFs analysis confirms atomic‐level dispersion of Ga and Ru in a well‐ordered lattice. The catalyst achieves 97.3% Faradaic efficiency and a yield of 6.43 mg h −1 cm −2 at −0.6 V (vs RHE), benefiting from the electron‐rich environment around Ru contributed by neighboring Ga and In. In situ/ex situ characterizations and computational modeling reveal the link between the NO 3 RR activity and d ‐ p hybrid structures. Compared to traditional methods, The roll‐to‐roll synthesis setup demonstrates significant advantages in environmental and technoeconomic aspects, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and production costs by several times, while also enhancing scalability and sustainability. This highlights the potential of this strategy for large‐scale, low‐cost, and eco‐friendly manufacturing.
Authors
- Yuhe Deng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6100-2104)
- Chunqi Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8895-2580)
- Xinwei Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8877-3427)
- Yongqing Gong
- Zhanqi Xing
- Yang Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2177-8463)
- Jiwoong Bae (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0759-908X)
- Seung‐Jun Oh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5507-2445)
- Menghao Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7926-5113)
- Zhichao Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9031-7105)
- Mingjin Cui (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8679-1744)
- Ze Lin
- Yu Ding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2573-9584)
Institutions
- Tongji University (CN)
- University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (CN)
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse (CN)
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures (CN)
- Hanyang University (KR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Functional Materials
- Published
- 2025-11-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202525452
- Primary Topic
- Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai
- National Research Foundation
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea
- Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning