Sustainable Ammonia Electrosynthesis Coupled With Glycerol Valorization via an Adaptive Tri‐Component Catalyst

Electrochemical nitrate reduction represents a promising route for sustainable ammonia (NH<sub>3</sub>) production, yet its practical deployment is constrained by the limited efficiency of state-of-the-art electrocatalysts and immature system architectures. Here, we report a generalist copper-nickel-tungsten tri-component tandem electrocatalyst via a sequential microwave-hydrothermal deposition route. Under pulsed electrolysis conditions, the catalyst delivers a remarkable Faradaic efficiency of 97.1% and a record-high ammonia yield rate of 43.87 mg h<sup>-1</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup>. Online differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) identifies key intermediates and associated pathways, while density functional theory (DFT) calculations elucidate the cooperative roles of each component: the copper component facilitates nitrate adsorption and deoxygenation, the nickel component promotes water dissociation for steady *H supply, and the tungsten component serves as a dynamic *H reservoir. This synergy efficiently suppresses hydrogen evolution and enhances ammonia selectivity. Furthermore, coupling with glycerol valorization (to formic acid) as the anodic reaction demonstrates the potential for energy-efficient ammonia electrosynthesis. Collectively, this work offers both design strategies and mechanistic understanding for next-generation multi-component tandem electrocatalysts targeting advanced nitrogen-based chemical synthesis.

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Journal
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Published
2026-02-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202522014
Primary Topic
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Sustainable Ammonia Electrosynthesis Coupled With Glycerol Valorization via an Adaptive Tri‐Component Catalyst

Christean Nickel, Ingo Lieberwirth, Tobias Rios‐Studer, Kevin Sowa et al.
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
article

Sustainable Ammonia Electrosynthesis Coupled With Glycerol Valorization via an Adaptive Tri‐Component Catalyst

Christean Nickel, Ingo Lieberwirth, Tobias Rios‐Studer, Kevin Sowa, Xiaohang Lin, Bing Joe Hwang, David Leander Troglauer, Deping Li, Tiansheng Bai, Boris Mashtakov, Chia‐Yu Chang, Bahareh Feizi Mohazzab, Dandan Gao, Rongji Liu, Lijie Ci
article en

Abstract

Electrochemical nitrate reduction represents a promising route for sustainable ammonia (NH<sub>3</sub>) production, yet its practical deployment is constrained by the limited efficiency of state-of-the-art electrocatalysts and immature system architectures. Here, we report a generalist copper-nickel-tungsten tri-component tandem electrocatalyst via a sequential microwave-hydrothermal deposition route. Under pulsed electrolysis conditions, the catalyst delivers a remarkable Faradaic efficiency of 97.1% and a record-high ammonia yield rate of 43.87 mg h<sup>-1</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup>. Online differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) identifies key intermediates and associated pathways, while density functional theory (DFT) calculations elucidate the cooperative roles of each component: the copper component facilitates nitrate adsorption and deoxygenation, the nickel component promotes water dissociation for steady *H supply, and the tungsten component serves as a dynamic *H reservoir. This synergy efficiently suppresses hydrogen evolution and enhances ammonia selectivity. Furthermore, coupling with glycerol valorization (to formic acid) as the anodic reaction demonstrates the potential for energy-efficient ammonia electrosynthesis. Collectively, this work offers both design strategies and mechanistic understanding for next-generation multi-component tandem electrocatalysts targeting advanced nitrogen-based chemical synthesis.

Angewandte Chemie International EditionVol. 65(11)
National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (TW), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE), Harbin Institute of Technology (CN), Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (DE), Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (MY)
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Ministry of Education, India, National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, National Science and Technology Council, Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province
Responsible consumption and production
Openalex Percentile: Top 71%
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
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