1
|
Zhang Z, Niu A, Lv Y, Guo H, Chen JS, Liu Q, Dong K, Sun X, Li T. NbC Nanoparticles Decorated Carbon Nanofibers as Highly Active and Robust Heterostructural Electrocatalysts for Ammonia Synthesis. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202406441. [PMID: 38742483 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202406441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2024] [Revised: 05/01/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Transition-metal carbides with metallic properties have been extensively used as electrocatalysts due to their excellent conductivity and unique electronic structures. Herein, NbC nanoparticles decorated carbon nanofibers (NbC@CNFs) are proposed as an efficient and robust catalyst for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia from nitrate/nitrite reduction, which achieves a high Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 94.4 % and a large ammonia yield of 30.9 mg h-1 mg-1 cat.. In situ electrochemical tests reveal the nitrite reduction at the catalyst surface follows the *NO pathway and theoretical calculations reveal the formation of NbC@CNFs heterostructure significantly broadens density of states nearby the Fermi energy. Finite element simulations unveil that the current and electric field converge on the NbC nanoparticles along the fiber, suggesting the dispersed carbides are highly active for nitrite reduction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhihao Zhang
- School of Materials and Energy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, Sichuan, China
| | - Aihui Niu
- School of Materials and Energy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, Sichuan, China
| | - Yaxin Lv
- School of Materials and Energy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, Sichuan, China
| | - Haoran Guo
- Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Applications of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory for Green Organic Synthesis and Application of Hunan Province, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, Hunan, China
| | - Jun Song Chen
- School of Materials and Energy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, Sichuan, China
- Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu, 610106, Sichuan, China
| | - Qian Liu
- Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu, 610106, Sichuan, China
| | - Kai Dong
- College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, Shandong, China
| | - Xuping Sun
- College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, Shandong, China
| | - Tingshuai Li
- School of Materials and Energy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, Sichuan, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Zhang R, Shang S, Wang F, Chu K. Electrocatalytic reduction of nitrite to ammonia on undercoordinated Cu. Dalton Trans 2024; 53:3470-3475. [PMID: 38323778 DOI: 10.1039/d4dt00043a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
Electrocatalytic NO2--to-NH3 reduction (NO2RR) has emerged as an intriguing route for simultaneous mitigation of harmful nitrites and production of valuable NH3. Herein, we design for the first time undercoordinated Cu nanowires (u-Cu) as an efficient and selective NO2RR electrocatalyst, delivering the maximum NO2--to-NH3 faradaic efficiency of 94.7% and an ammonia production rate of 494.5 μmol h-1 cm-2 at -0.7 V vs. RHE. Theoretical calculations reveal that the created undercoordinated Cu sites on u-Cu can enhance NO2- adsorption, boost NO2--to-NH3 energetics and restrict competitive hydrogen evolution, thereby enabling the active and selective NO2RR.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ruichao Zhang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
| | - Shiyao Shang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
| | - Fuzhou Wang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
| | - Ke Chu
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Wu T, Zhang F, Wang J, Liu X, Tian Y, Chu K. Electrochemical reduction of nitrite to ammonia on amorphous MoO 3 nanosheets. Dalton Trans 2024; 53:877-881. [PMID: 38131476 DOI: 10.1039/d3dt03808d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Electrocatalytic NO2- reduction to NH3 (NO2RR) is an appealing approach for mitigating NO2- pollution and for the synthesis of valuable NH3, and so the exploration for high-performance NO2RR catalysts is pivotal yet remains challenging. Herein, amorphous MoO3 nanosheets (am-MoO3) were designed as a high-performance NO2RR electrocatalyst, delivering a maximum NO2--to-NH3 faradaic efficiency of 94.8% and NH3 yield rate of 480.4 μmol h-1 cm-2 at -0.6 V vs. RHE. Theoretical computations revealed that the largely enhanced NO2RR activity of am-MoO3 originated from the amorphization-induced O-vacancies, which could enhance the NO2--to-NH3 reaction energetics and hamper the competitive hydrogen evolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tingting Wu
- College of Science, Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou 075000, Hebei, China.
| | - Fengyu Zhang
- College of Science, Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou 075000, Hebei, China.
| | - Jingxuan Wang
- College of Science, Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou 075000, Hebei, China.
| | - Xiaoxu Liu
- College of Science, Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou 075000, Hebei, China.
| | - Ye Tian
- College of Science, Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou 075000, Hebei, China.
| | - Ke Chu
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Qu Y, Guo Y, Chu K. Promoting Nitrite-to-Ammonia Electroreduction over Amorphous CoS 2 Nanorods. Inorg Chem 2024; 63:78-83. [PMID: 38133814 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c04194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Electrocatalytic nitrite reduction to ammonia (NO2RR) emerges as a promising route to simultaneously attain harmful NO2- removal and green NH3 synthesis. In this study, amorphous CoS2 nanorods (a-CoS2) are first demonstrated as an effective NO2RR catalyst, which exhibits the maximum FENH3 of 88.7% and NH3 yield rate of 438.1 μmol h-1 cm-2 at -0.6 V vs RHE. Detailed experimental and computational investigations reveal that the high NO2RR performance of a-CoS2 originates from the amorphization-induced S vacancies to facilitate NO2- activation and hydrogenation, boost the electron transport kinetics, and inhibit the competitive hydrogen evolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yang Qu
- Suizhou Vocational and Technical College, Suizhou 441300, China
| | - Yali Guo
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Ke Chu
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Wang G, Ma R, Zhang N, Guo Y, Chu K. Single-atom Cu anchored on Mo 2C boosts nitrite electroreduction to ammonia. Chem Commun (Camb) 2023; 59:13887-13890. [PMID: 37933626 DOI: 10.1039/d3cc03993e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2023]
Abstract
We design single-atom Cu anchored on Mo2C (Cu1/Mo2C) as an effective electrocatalyst towards electrochemical nitrite reduction to ammonia (NO2RR), exhibiting an NH3-faradaic efficiency of 91.5% with a corresponding NH3 yield rate of 472.9 μmol h-1 cm-2 at -0.6 V vs. RHE. Theoretical computations unravel that single-atomic Cu couples with the surface Mo atom of Mo2C to enable the construction of Cu-Mo dual-active centers, which can synergistically activate NO2- and minimize the NO2--to-NH3 reaction energy barrier, whilst suppressing the competing hydrogen evolution reaction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Guohui Wang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
| | - Ruiyuan Ma
- School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Nana Zhang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
| | - Yali Guo
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
| | - Ke Chu
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
| |
Collapse
|