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Chao G, Wang J, Zong W, Fan W, Xue T, Zhang L, Liu T. Single-atom catalysts for electrocatalytic nitrate reduction into ammonia. NANOTECHNOLOGY 2024; 35:432001. [PMID: 39105490 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ad64d9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/07/2024]
Abstract
Ammonia (NH3) is a versatile and important compound with a wide range of uses, which is currently produced through the demanding Haber-Bosch process. Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction into ammonia (NRA) has recently emerged as a sustainable approach for NH3synthesis under ambient conditions. However, the NRA catalysis is a complex multistep electrochemical process with competitive hydrogen evolution reaction that usually results in poor selectivity and low yield rate for NH3synthesis. With maximum atom utilization and well-defined catalytic sites, single atom catalysts (SACs) display high activity, selectivity and stability toward various catalytic reactions. Very recently, a number of SACs have been developed as promising NRA electrocatalysts, but systematical discussion about the key factors that affect their NRA performance is not yet to be summarized to date. This review focuses on the latest breakthroughs of SACs toward NRA catalysis, including catalyst preparation, catalyst characterization and theoretical insights. Moreover, the challenges and opportunities for improving the NRA performance of SACs are discussed, with an aim to achieve further advancement in developing high-performance SACs for efficient NH3synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guojie Chao
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, People's Republic of China
- Jiangsu Engineering Research Center of New Energy Vehicle Energy Saving and Battery Safety, WUXI Institute of Technology, Wuxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Jian Wang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei Zong
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei Fan
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Tiantian Xue
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Longsheng Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Tianxi Liu
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, People's Republic of China
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Qian SJ, Cao H, Wang YG, Li J. Controlling the Selectivity of Electrocatalytic NO Reduction through pH and Potential Regulation on Single-Atom Catalysts. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:12530-12537. [PMID: 38664859 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c00827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2024]
Abstract
Electrocatalytic nitrogen oxide reduction (NOxRR) emerges as an effective way to bring the disrupted nitrogen cycle back into balance. However, efficient and selective NOxRR is still challenging partly due to the complex reaction mechanism, which is influenced by experimental conditions such as pH and electrode potential. Here, we have studied the enzyme-inspired iron single-atom catalysts (Fe-N4-C) and identified that the selectivity roots in the first step of the nitric oxide reduction. Combining the constrained molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with the quasi-equilibrium approximation, the effects of electrode potential and pH on the reaction free energy were considered explicitly and predicted quantitatively. Systematic heat maps for selectivity between single-N and N-N-coupled products in a wide pH-potential space are further developed, which have reproduced the experimental observations of NOxRR. The approach presented in this study allows for a realistic simulation of the electrocatalytic interfaces and a quantitative evaluation of interfacial effects. Our results in this study provide valuable and straightforward guidance for selective NOx reduction toward desired products by precisely designing the experimental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheng Jie Qian
- Department of Chemistry and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Catalytic Chemistry, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China
| | - Hao Cao
- Department of Chemistry and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Catalytic Chemistry, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China
| | - Yang Gang Wang
- Department of Chemistry and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Catalytic Chemistry, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China
| | - Jun Li
- Department of Chemistry and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Catalytic Chemistry, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China
- Department of Chemistry and Engineering Research Center of Advanced Rare-Earth Materials of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
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Li Y, Qiao S, Guo M, Zhang L, Liu G, Zhou J. Biological Self-Assembled Transmembrane Electron Conduits for High-Efficiency Ammonia Production in Microbial Electrosynthesis. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:7457-7468. [PMID: 38642050 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c10897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/22/2024]
Abstract
Usually, CymA is irreplaceable as the electron transport hub in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 bidirectional electron transfer. In this work, biologically self-assembled FeS nanoparticles construct an artificial electron transfer route and implement electron transfer from extracellular into periplasmic space without CymA involvement, which present similar properties to type IV pili. Bacteria are wired up into a network, and more electron transfer conduits are activated by self-assembled transmembrane FeS nanoparticles (electron conduits), thereby substantially enhancing the ammonia production. In this study, we achieved an average NH4+-N production rate of 391.8 μg·h-1·L reactor-1 with the selectivity of 98.0% and cathode efficiency of 65.4%. Additionally, the amide group in the protein-like substances located in the outer membrane was first found to be able to transfer electrons from extracellular into intracellular with c-type cytochromes. Our work provides a new viewpoint that contributes to a better understanding of the interconnections between semiconductor materials and bacteria and inspires the exploration of new electron transfer chain components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Li
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian116024, P.R. China
| | - Sen Qiao
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian116024, P.R. China
| | - Meiwei Guo
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian116024, P.R. China
| | - Liying Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian116024, P.R. China
| | - Guangfei Liu
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian116024, P.R. China
| | - Jiti Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian116024, P.R. China
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Ding J, Hou X, Qiu Y, Zhang S, Liu Q, Luo J, Liu X. Iron-doping strategy promotes electroreduction of nitrate to ammonia on MoS2 nanosheets. INORG CHEM COMMUN 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.inoche.2023.110621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/17/2023]
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