Ru-Doped Ultrasmall Cu Nanoparticles Decorated with Carbon for Electroreduction of Nitrate to Ammonia

作者：Jian Li, Binglei Wang, Huijiao Wang, Jinzhi Jia, Jinhua Zhang, Lanyue Zhang, Mudong Tu, Hua Li, Cailing Xu · 发表于：Inorganic Chemistry · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c04446 · 被引用次数：26 · 研究领域：Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction、Caching and Content Delivery、Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques

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– [email protected] 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 –1 mg cat. –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.