Intrinsic Ni <sup>0</sup> –Ni <sup>δ+</sup> Pairs in Anti‐Perovskite NiNNi <sub>3</sub> Act as Hydrogen Radical Emitters for Cu Enabling Promoted Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction

Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction (NO<sub>3</sub>RR) enables ambient-condition ammonia production, while ampere-level application is still limited by the unsatisfactory efficiency due to the insufficient *H supply for rapid *NO hydrogenation. Herein, we tackled this challenge by constructing the NiNNi<sub>3</sub>/Cu heterostructure catalyst that utilizes the substantial electrostatic potential differences derived from the intrinsic Ni<sup>0</sup>-Ni<sup>δ+</sup> pairs in anti-perovskite NiNNi<sub>3</sub> to accelerate the O─H bond cleavage for *H generation, enhancing NO<sub>3</sub>RR. Consequently, the NiNNi<sub>3</sub>/Cu delivers 1.2 A cm<sup>-2</sup> with 100 ± 0.7% Faradaic efficiency (FE) at ultralow +0.05 V<sub>RHE</sub>. The paired electrosynthesis by coupling NO<sub>3</sub>RR with formaldehyde oxidation yields 500 mA cm<sup>-2</sup> at a low cell voltage of 0.8 V, with 95% NH<sub>3</sub>-FE and 90% formate-FE. Importantly, industrial-level application is further demonstrated by a flow cell with 25 cm<sup>2</sup> electrode that delivers 20 A, and produces 64 g NH<sub>4</sub>Cl for 20 h. This work provides a novel rationale for catalyst design that can boost *H density to accelerate hydrogenation kinetics for advanced electrosynthesis applications.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Published
2025-12-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202521064
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.78

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article

Intrinsic Ni 0 –Ni δ+ Pairs in Anti‐Perovskite NiNNi 3 Act as Hydrogen Radical Emitters for Cu Enabling Promoted Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction

Genqiang Zhang, Bocheng Zhang, Buqi Ke, Mingyu Cheng et al.
2 citations
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
0.78
article

Intrinsic Ni 0 –Ni δ+ Pairs in Anti‐Perovskite NiNNi 3 Act as Hydrogen Radical Emitters for Cu Enabling Promoted Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction

Genqiang Zhang, Bocheng Zhang, Buqi Ke, Mingyu Cheng, Yanxu Chen, Zechuan Dai, Pingyi Feng
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction (NO<sub>3</sub>RR) enables ambient-condition ammonia production, while ampere-level application is still limited by the unsatisfactory efficiency due to the insufficient *H supply for rapid *NO hydrogenation. Herein, we tackled this challenge by constructing the NiNNi<sub>3</sub>/Cu heterostructure catalyst that utilizes the substantial electrostatic potential differences derived from the intrinsic Ni<sup>0</sup>-Ni<sup>δ+</sup> pairs in anti-perovskite NiNNi<sub>3</sub> to accelerate the O─H bond cleavage for *H generation, enhancing NO<sub>3</sub>RR. Consequently, the NiNNi<sub>3</sub>/Cu delivers 1.2 A cm<sup>-2</sup> with 100 ± 0.7% Faradaic efficiency (FE) at ultralow +0.05 V<sub>RHE</sub>. The paired electrosynthesis by coupling NO<sub>3</sub>RR with formaldehyde oxidation yields 500 mA cm<sup>-2</sup> at a low cell voltage of 0.8 V, with 95% NH<sub>3</sub>-FE and 90% formate-FE. Importantly, industrial-level application is further demonstrated by a flow cell with 25 cm<sup>2</sup> electrode that delivers 20 A, and produces 64 g NH<sub>4</sub>Cl for 20 h. This work provides a novel rationale for catalyst design that can boost *H density to accelerate hydrogenation kinetics for advanced electrosynthesis applications.

Angewandte Chemie International EditionVol. 65(5)
Hefei National Center for Physical Sciences at Nanoscale (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, University of Science and Technology of China, National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory
Openalex Percentile: Top 26%
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
0.78
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