Laser‐Irradiated Ni Foam Cathode for Efficient Electrochemical Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia
Valorizing nitrate‐contaminated water into ammonia via electrocatalysis represents a promising circular strategy. Herein, we report a laser‐irradiated Ni foam (L‐NF) as a high‐performance cathode for this reaction. The L‐NF electrode enables 78.5% nitrate conversion with 62.5% selectivity to NH 3 under neutral conditions. Mechanistic studies reveal that the laser treatment generates active oxygen sites and peels the surface Ni layer, thereby modulating the electronic structure. These modifications result in an increased density at the Fermi level, which collectively enhances *H adsorption. The thus‐engineered L‐NF catalyst achieves a notable reduction current of −155.23 mA cm −2 and an NH 3 yield of 549.1 μg cm −2 h −1 at −0.9 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. This study provides novel insights into cathode design for efficient nitrate removal and resource recovery.
Authors
- Yuxin Cui
- Ke Qin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3440-5302)
- Sumin Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6784-5927)
- Qi Guo
- Jiale Chen
- Qiguan Wang
- Ying Ke
- Bo Wu
- Zhangfeng Jin
Institutions
- Xi'an Technological University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- physica status solidi (a)
- Published
- 2026-09-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.70552
- Primary Topic
- Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00