Ampere‐Level Membrane‐Free Bipolar Ammonia Electrosynthesis with Faradaic Efficiency Exceeding 100% on a Surface‐Reconstructed NiFe‐Hydroxide

Awaking the force of materials for specific efficacy by precise electronic modulation remains a fundamental challenge in catalysis. Herein, we transform ordinary NiFe-layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) into a high-performance NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup>-to-NH<sub>3</sub> electrocatalyst via cathodic electrochemical restructuring, which effectively induces oxygen vacancy (O<sub>v</sub>) clusters preferentially localized around low-valence Ni sites. The resultant restructured NiFe-LDH (NiFe-LDH-R) demonstrates excellent concentration-universal NH<sub>3</sub> electrosynthesis activity in 1 M KOH, notably sustaining high Faradaic efficiencies (FEs, 88.5%-95%) across a broad potential range and attaining an ampere-level current density (-1.46 A cm<sup>-2</sup>) together with a remarkable yield rate of 104.1 mg<sub>NH3</sub> h<sup>-1</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup>. In situ spectroscopic analyses reveal boosted hydrogenation kinetics and a thermodynamically favorable NOH pathway for NiFe-LDH-R, which is further decoded by theoretical calculations indicating that synergized O<sub>v</sub>/Fe and low-valence Ni sites, respectively enhance NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup> adsorption and directional active hydrogen (*H) supply, thus streamlining overall energy barriers. Moreover, a new-style membrane-free bipolar electrosynthesis system is established, which enables unprecedent NH<sub>3</sub> FEs exceeding 100% and scalable NH<sub>3</sub> valorization into 4.1 g of methenamine. This study rekindles power of electrochemical restructuring in catalyst advance and pioneers a new paradigm for energy-efficient electrochemical NH<sub>3</sub> production and fixation.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Published
2025-12-23
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202521629
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.39
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article

Ampere‐Level Membrane‐Free Bipolar Ammonia Electrosynthesis with Faradaic Efficiency Exceeding 100% on a Surface‐Reconstructed NiFe‐Hydroxide

Y. A. Yang, Shuwen Zhao, Jing Mao, Cheng‐You Lee et al.
1 citations
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
0.39
article

Ampere‐Level Membrane‐Free Bipolar Ammonia Electrosynthesis with Faradaic Efficiency Exceeding 100% on a Surface‐Reconstructed NiFe‐Hydroxide

Y. A. Yang, Shuwen Zhao, Jing Mao, Cheng‐You Lee, Yanghua Li, Lili Han, Guangyu Chen, Chi‐Feng Lee, Yimeng Cai, Hsiao‐Tsu Wang, Linjie Zhang
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Awaking the force of materials for specific efficacy by precise electronic modulation remains a fundamental challenge in catalysis. Herein, we transform ordinary NiFe-layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) into a high-performance NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup>-to-NH<sub>3</sub> electrocatalyst via cathodic electrochemical restructuring, which effectively induces oxygen vacancy (O<sub>v</sub>) clusters preferentially localized around low-valence Ni sites. The resultant restructured NiFe-LDH (NiFe-LDH-R) demonstrates excellent concentration-universal NH<sub>3</sub> electrosynthesis activity in 1 M KOH, notably sustaining high Faradaic efficiencies (FEs, 88.5%-95%) across a broad potential range and attaining an ampere-level current density (-1.46 A cm<sup>-2</sup>) together with a remarkable yield rate of 104.1 mg<sub>NH3</sub> h<sup>-1</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup>. In situ spectroscopic analyses reveal boosted hydrogenation kinetics and a thermodynamically favorable NOH pathway for NiFe-LDH-R, which is further decoded by theoretical calculations indicating that synergized O<sub>v</sub>/Fe and low-valence Ni sites, respectively enhance NO<sub>3</sub> <sup>-</sup> adsorption and directional active hydrogen (*H) supply, thus streamlining overall energy barriers. Moreover, a new-style membrane-free bipolar electrosynthesis system is established, which enables unprecedent NH<sub>3</sub> FEs exceeding 100% and scalable NH<sub>3</sub> valorization into 4.1 g of methenamine. This study rekindles power of electrochemical restructuring in catalyst advance and pioneers a new paradigm for energy-efficient electrochemical NH<sub>3</sub> production and fixation.

Angewandte Chemie International EditionVol. 65(6)
Tamkang University (TW), Tianjin University of Technology (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter (CN)
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 35%
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
0.39
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