Solar-DrivenHigh-Rate Ammonia Production from WastewaterCoupled with Plastic Waste Reforming
Solar-powered electrochemical NH<sub>3</sub> synthesis offers the benefits of sustainability and absence of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions but suffers from a poor solar-to-ammonia yield rate (SAY) due to a low NH<sub>3</sub> selectivity, large bias caused by the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction, and low photocurrent in the corresponding photovoltaics. Herein, a highly efficient photovoltaic–electrocatalytic system enabling high-rate solar-driven NH<sub>3</sub> synthesis was developed. A high-performance Ru-doped Co nanotube catalyst was used to selectively promote the nitrite reduction reaction (NO<sub>2</sub>RR), exhibiting a faradaic efficiency of 99.6% and half-cell energy efficiency of 52.3% at 0.15 V vs the reversible hydrogen electrode, delivering a high NO<sub>2</sub>RR selectivity even in electrolytes with high NO<sub>3</sub><sup>–</sup> and low NO<sub>2</sub><sup>–</sup> concentrations. Thus, the promoted NO<sub>2</sub>RR was coupled with the ethylene glycol oxidation reaction and a perovskite photovoltaic cell to achieve the highest SAY reported to date (146 ± 1 μmol h<sup>–1</sup> cm<sup>–2</sup>) and stable operation.
Publication Details
- Journal
- Figshare
- Published
- 2025-01-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c05932.s001
- Primary Topic
- Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00