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Zhang J, Chen C, Zhang R, Wang X, Wei Y, Sun M, Liu Z, Ge R, Ma M, Tian J. Size-induced d band center upshift of copper for efficient nitrate reduction to ammonia. J Colloid Interface Sci 2024; 658:934-942. [PMID: 38157617 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.12.129] [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: 11/15/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction (NO3RR) technique has emerged as a hotspot in NH3 production, for its practicability, and a series of advanced electrocatalysts with high activity and robust stability needed to be constructed in today's era. In this work, size-tunable Cu nanoparticles on porous nitrogen-doped hexagonal carbon nanorods (Cu@NHC) were reasonably designed and served for catalyzing NO3RR in neutral media. Especially, Cu30%@NHC demonstrated a remarkable electroactivity for NH3 production as it showed a suitable grain size with massive catalytic centers and favorable d band structure with faster *NO3--to-*NO2- catalytic dynamics. As expected, Cu30%@NHC (3628.28 µg h-1 mgcat.-1) had a much higher NH3 yield than those for Cu20%@NHC (1268.42 µg h-1 mgcat.-1) and Cu40%@NHC (725.03 µg h-1 mgcat.-1). And those collected NH3 products indeed derived from NO3RR process revealed by 15N isotope-labeling and systemic control tests. Moreover, Cu30%@NHC was also durable for NO3RR bulk electrolysis with minor loss in activity. This work offered an effective modifying tactics to boost NO3RR catalysis and could guide the design of other advanced electrocatalysts via size-induced surface engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jincheng Zhang
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
| | - Chaofan Chen
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Rui Zhang
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
| | - Xu Wang
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
| | - Yanjiao Wei
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
| | - Mengjie Sun
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
| | - Zhanning Liu
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
| | - Ruixiang Ge
- College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
| | - Min Ma
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China.
| | - Jian Tian
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China.
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Li J, Wang B, Wang H, Jia J, Zhang J, Zhang L, Tu M, Li H, Xu C. Ru-Doped Ultrasmall Cu Nanoparticles Decorated with Carbon for Electroreduction of Nitrate to Ammonia. Inorg Chem 2024; 63:3955-3961. [PMID: 38334267 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c04446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction offers a sustainable approach to treating wastewater and synthesizing high-value ammonia under ambient conditions. However, electrocatalysts with low faradaic efficiency and selectivity severely hinder the development of nitrate-to-ammonia conversion. Herein, Ru-doped ultrasmall copper nanoparticles loaded on a carbon substrate (Cu-Ru@C) were fabricated by the pyrolysis of Cu-BTC metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The Cu-Ru@C-0.5 catalyst exhibits a high faradaic efficiency (FE) of 90.4% at -0.6 V (vs RHE) and an ammonia yield rate of 1700.36 μg h-1mgcat.-1 at -0.9 V (vs RHE). Moreover, the nitrate conversion rate is almost 100% over varied pHs (including acid, neutral, and alkaline electrolytes) and different nitrate concentrations. The remarkable performance is attributed to the synergistic effect between Cu and Ru and the excellent conductivity of the carbon substrate. This work will open an exciting avenue to exploring MOF derivatives for ambient ammonia synthesis via selective electrocatalytic nitrate reduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Li
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Binglei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Huijiao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Jinzhi Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Jinhua Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Lanyue Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Mudong Tu
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Hua Li
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Cailing Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
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