Direct Solar Power‐Driven Durable Ammonia Electrosynthesis From Nitrate Under Fluctuating Voltage Conditions

ABSTRACT Nitrate electroreduction (NO 3 RR) powered by solar energy offers a sustainable platform for ammonia (NH 3 ) synthesis. However, the variability of solar energy, leads to fluctuating voltages and frequent start‐stop of the system, presents significant challenges for catalysts in maintaining high efficiency and stability. In this work, the symmetry of charge distribution across distinct Cu facets was manipulated, achieving high NH 3 faradaic efficiencies (FEs) above 90% across a wide potential window of 800 mV in an H‐cell condition. Moreover, the membrane electrode assembly directly powered by a commercial silicon‐based solar panel operated for 8 days at a current density of 300 mA cm −2 under fluctuating natural solar conditions (1.6 V–2.9 V), maintaining high NH 3 FE between 81%–94%. Mechanistic studies reveal that incorporating isolated Sn on the Cu (111) facet triggers a highly asymmetric charge distribution, which not only induces a weak field–dipole interaction between NO 3 − and SnCu111 surface but also promotes water dissociation kinetics and key intermediate hydrogenation, maximizing the free energy differentiation from the competing HER. This work provides a blueprint for practical catalyst design, offering a proof of concept for direct solar power‐driven NH 3 electrosynthesis.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Published
2026-08-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.3133042
Primary Topic
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Direct Solar Power‐Driven Durable Ammonia Electrosynthesis From Nitrate Under Fluctuating Voltage Conditions

Jianping Yang, Xiangdong Yao, Chuangwei Liu, Liyun Wu et al.
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
article

Direct Solar Power‐Driven Durable Ammonia Electrosynthesis From Nitrate Under Fluctuating Voltage Conditions

Jianping Yang, Xiangdong Yao, Chuangwei Liu, Liyun Wu, Sirui Tang, Xiaokang Wang, Jun Chen, Jiankun Li, Qilong Wu
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Nitrate electroreduction (NO 3 RR) powered by solar energy offers a sustainable platform for ammonia (NH 3 ) synthesis. However, the variability of solar energy, leads to fluctuating voltages and frequent start‐stop of the system, presents significant challenges for catalysts in maintaining high efficiency and stability. In this work, the symmetry of charge distribution across distinct Cu facets was manipulated, achieving high NH 3 faradaic efficiencies (FEs) above 90% across a wide potential window of 800 mV in an H‐cell condition. Moreover, the membrane electrode assembly directly powered by a commercial silicon‐based solar panel operated for 8 days at a current density of 300 mA cm −2 under fluctuating natural solar conditions (1.6 V–2.9 V), maintaining high NH 3 FE between 81%–94%. Mechanistic studies reveal that incorporating isolated Sn on the Cu (111) facet triggers a highly asymmetric charge distribution, which not only induces a weak field–dipole interaction between NO 3 − and SnCu111 surface but also promotes water dissociation kinetics and key intermediate hydrogenation, maximizing the free energy differentiation from the competing HER. This work provides a blueprint for practical catalyst design, offering a proof of concept for direct solar power‐driven NH 3 electrosynthesis.

Angewandte Chemie International Edition
University of Science and Technology of China (CN), Shenzhen University (CN), Donghua University (CN), University of Wollongong (AU), Shanghai Research Institute of Chemical Industry (CN)
Australian National Fabrication Facility, University of Wollongong, Australian Research Council
Responsible consumption and production
Openalex Percentile: Top 27%
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.