Nitrate (NO3-) electroreduction to ammonia(NH4+) is a sustainable alternative strategy for the NH4+ synthesis, and it can be used to solve the water pollution problem by simultaneously turning waste into...

Revealing the reactivity of different exposed facets is crucial for designing highly effective electrocatalysts to selectively reduce nitrate (NO 3 − ) to ammonia (NH 4 + ). Herein, two dominant exposures of Cu 2 O(100) and Cu 2 O(111) facets are designed to explore the effects of interfaces on properties. Cu 2 O(100) achieved a relatively high NH 4 + yield rate of 743 μg h −1 mg cat.−1 associated with a Faradic efficiency of 82.3% at −0.6 V vs the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), attributed to a relatively lower energy barrier (0.18 eV) for NH 3 production than the Cu 2 O( 111) surface (1.43 eV). In addition, 15 N isotope-labeling experiments were used to quantitatively analyze the yield rate of NH 4 + and further confirmed the reliability of nitrogen sources. This work provides reliable evidence to improve the selectivity of NO 3 − to NH 4 + by crystal facet engineering.

No abstract

No abstract