Single Ga‐Atom Stabilized Cu <sup>+</sup> –Cu <sup>0</sup> Interfacial Sites for Efficient Air Plasma‐Derived Ammonia Electrosynthesis

ABSTRACT Electrocatalytic NO x reduction to ammonia (NO x RR) offers a sustainable route for decentralized NH 3 synthesis, however, its practical implementation is impeded by sluggish hydrogenation kinetics and the instability of active species. Herein, we develop a Ga single‐atom decorated CuO x /Cu (Ga SA ‐CuO x /Cu) catalyst featuring a strongly coupled Ga–O–Cu coordination structure. The introduction of highly electrophilic Ga 3+ modulates the electronic structure of Cu via p–d interactions, downshifting the Cu d ‐band center to weaken excessive intermediate binding, while stabilizing Cu + species to form highly active Cu + –Cu 0 interfacial sites. Meanwhile, Ga sites promote active hydrogen supply and accelerate hydrogenation kinetics on adjacent Cu centers. Benefiting from these synergistic effects, the optimized Ga SA ‐CuO x /Cu achieves a remarkable NH 3 Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 96.21% at −0.4 V versus RHE and high durability at −0.5 A cm −2 . Moreover, a Zn‐NO 2 − /ethanol battery delivers a peak power density of 17.47 mW cm −2 with improved charging efficiency, while a plasma‐assisted hybrid electrolyzer achieves &gt;95% FEs for both NH 3 and formate at −400 mA cm −2 and operates stably for 200 h at 0.5 A cm −2 , demonstrating its strong applicability in integrated energy‐chemical conversion systems.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2026-07-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.3319404
Primary Topic
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Single Ga‐Atom Stabilized Cu + –Cu 0 Interfacial Sites for Efficient Air Plasma‐Derived Ammonia Electrosynthesis

K Chen, Yan Xu, Yun Tong, Pengzuo Chen et al.
Angewandte Chemie
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
article

Single Ga‐Atom Stabilized Cu + –Cu 0 Interfacial Sites for Efficient Air Plasma‐Derived Ammonia Electrosynthesis

K Chen, Yan Xu, Yun Tong, Pengzuo Chen, Wentao Wang, Xi Zhang, Jinxuan Wu, Jinyang Zhang
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Electrocatalytic NO x reduction to ammonia (NO x RR) offers a sustainable route for decentralized NH 3 synthesis, however, its practical implementation is impeded by sluggish hydrogenation kinetics and the instability of active species. Herein, we develop a Ga single‐atom decorated CuO x /Cu (Ga SA ‐CuO x /Cu) catalyst featuring a strongly coupled Ga–O–Cu coordination structure. The introduction of highly electrophilic Ga 3+ modulates the electronic structure of Cu via p–d interactions, downshifting the Cu d ‐band center to weaken excessive intermediate binding, while stabilizing Cu + species to form highly active Cu + –Cu 0 interfacial sites. Meanwhile, Ga sites promote active hydrogen supply and accelerate hydrogenation kinetics on adjacent Cu centers. Benefiting from these synergistic effects, the optimized Ga SA ‐CuO x /Cu achieves a remarkable NH 3 Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 96.21% at −0.4 V versus RHE and high durability at −0.5 A cm −2 . Moreover, a Zn‐NO 2 − /ethanol battery delivers a peak power density of 17.47 mW cm −2 with improved charging efficiency, while a plasma‐assisted hybrid electrolyzer achieves &gt;95% FEs for both NH 3 and formate at −400 mA cm −2 and operates stably for 200 h at 0.5 A cm −2 , demonstrating its strong applicability in integrated energy‐chemical conversion systems.

Angewandte Chemie
Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (CN), Guizhou Education University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Responsible consumption and production
Openalex Percentile: Top 25%
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
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