Enzyme‐Mimicking Metal–Phosphide Tandem Catalytic Centers for Efficient Electrochemical Nitrate‐to‐Ammonia Conversion and Zinc–Nitrate Battery

ABSTRACT Achieving spatially coupled and functionally complementary active sites in synthetic catalysts remains a significant challenge. Inspired by the enzymatic cascade involving nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase, we report a nanozyme comprising iron clusters and iron‐doped nickel phosphide nanoparticles on CeO 2 nanorods (Fe–Fe x Ni 2−x P/CeO 2 ) in proximity for efficient electrocatalytic nitrate‐to‐ammonia conversion and Zn–NO 3 − battery. The Fe clusters serve as nitrate reductase mimics, promoting the deoxygenation step of NO 3 − to NO 2 − , while the adjacent Fe x Ni 2−x P nanoparticles serve as nitrite reductase mimics, accelerating the subsequent hydrogenation steps to NH 3 . The CeO 2 nanorods stabilize the dual active sites and function as proton reservoirs to suppress the hydrogen evolution reaction. Thus, the nanozyme delivers exceptional performance in NH 3 electrosynthesis, achieving a high yield rate of 43.5 mg h −1 cm −2 with a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 91.2% at –0.7 V versus RHE in an H‐type cell and an industrial‐level current density of 800 mA cm −2 for over 100 h under flow‐cell conditions (FE NH3 > 90%) at the same potential. When employed Fe–Fe x Ni 2−x P/CeO 2 as a cathode in a rechargeable Zn–NO 3 − battery, it enables simultaneous NH 3 production and power generation, delivering a peak power density of 21.1 mW cm −2 and an NH 3 yield rate of 1.9 mg h −1 cm −2 .

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2026-01-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.202525416
Primary Topic
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
Type
article
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article

Enzyme‐Mimicking Metal–Phosphide Tandem Catalytic Centers for Efficient Electrochemical Nitrate‐to‐Ammonia Conversion and Zinc–Nitrate Battery

Tao Yang, Boyu Zhang, Xinnan Xie, Xinchun Yang et al.
Angewandte Chemie
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
article

Enzyme‐Mimicking Metal–Phosphide Tandem Catalytic Centers for Efficient Electrochemical Nitrate‐to‐Ammonia Conversion and Zinc–Nitrate Battery

Tao Yang, Boyu Zhang, Xinnan Xie, Xinchun Yang, Yi Zhong, Jian‐Ke Sun, Pandi Muthukumar
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Achieving spatially coupled and functionally complementary active sites in synthetic catalysts remains a significant challenge. Inspired by the enzymatic cascade involving nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase, we report a nanozyme comprising iron clusters and iron‐doped nickel phosphide nanoparticles on CeO 2 nanorods (Fe–Fe x Ni 2−x P/CeO 2 ) in proximity for efficient electrocatalytic nitrate‐to‐ammonia conversion and Zn–NO 3 − battery. The Fe clusters serve as nitrate reductase mimics, promoting the deoxygenation step of NO 3 − to NO 2 − , while the adjacent Fe x Ni 2−x P nanoparticles serve as nitrite reductase mimics, accelerating the subsequent hydrogenation steps to NH 3 . The CeO 2 nanorods stabilize the dual active sites and function as proton reservoirs to suppress the hydrogen evolution reaction. Thus, the nanozyme delivers exceptional performance in NH 3 electrosynthesis, achieving a high yield rate of 43.5 mg h −1 cm −2 with a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 91.2% at –0.7 V versus RHE in an H‐type cell and an industrial‐level current density of 800 mA cm −2 for over 100 h under flow‐cell conditions (FE NH3 > 90%) at the same potential. When employed Fe–Fe x Ni 2−x P/CeO 2 as a cathode in a rechargeable Zn–NO 3 − battery, it enables simultaneous NH 3 production and power generation, delivering a peak power density of 21.1 mW cm −2 and an NH 3 yield rate of 1.9 mg h −1 cm −2 .

Angewandte ChemieVol. 138(10)
Beijing Institute of Technology (CN), Hunan University (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Advanced Energy (United States) (US), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (CN), Shenzhen Technology University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 75%
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
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Enzyme‐Mimicking Metal–Phosphide Tandem Catalytic Centers for Efficient Electrochemical Nitrate‐to‐Ammonia Conversion and Zinc–Nitrate Battery — Tao Yang, Boyu Zhang, et al. · Angewandte Chemie (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS