Citation: Ling Fang, Sha Wang, Shun Lu, Fengjun Yin, Yujie Dai, Lin Chang, Hong Liu. Efficient electroreduction of nitrate via enriched active phases on copper-cobalt oxides[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2024, 35(4): 108864. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2023.108864 shu

Efficient electroreduction of nitrate via enriched active phases on copper-cobalt oxides

Ling Fang ^{a, 1} ,
Sha Wang ^{a, b, 1} ,
Shun Lu ^a ,
Fengjun Yin ^a ,
Yujie Dai ^a ,
Lin Chang ^a ,
Hong Liu ^{a, *,}

a.
Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, China
b.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

liuhong@cigit.ac.cn

Received Date: 3 April 2023
Revised Date: 5 July 2023
Accepted Date: 27 July 2023
Available Online: 30 July 2023

Figures(5)

Electrochemical conversion of nitrate (NO₃⁻) to ammonia (NH₃) can target two birds with one stone well, in NO₃⁻-containing sewage remediation and sustainable NH₃ production. However, single metal-based catalysts are difficult to drive high-efficient NO₃⁻ removal due to the multi-electron transfer steps. Herein, we present a tandem catalyst with simple structure, Cu-Co binary metal oxides (Cu-Co-O), by engineering intermediate phases as catalytic active species for NO₃⁻ conversion. Electrochemical evaluation, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and in situ Raman spectra together suggest that the newly-generated Cu-based phases was prone to NO₃⁻ to NO₂⁻ conversion, then NO₂⁻ was reduced to NH₃ on Co-based species. At an applied potential of −1.1 V vs. saturated calomel electrode, the Cu-Co-O catalyst achieved NO₃⁻-N removal of 90% and NH₃ faradaic efficiency of 81% for 120 min in 100 mL of 50 mg/L NO₃⁻-N, consuming only 0.69 kWh/mol in a two-electrode system. This study provides a facile and efficient engineering strategy for developing high-performance catalysts for electrocatalytic nitrate conversion.
- NO₃⁻-containing sewage remediation,
- Electrocatalytic reduction,
- Copper-cobalt oxides,
- Tandem reactivity,
- Enriched active phases
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