Accelerated industrialization combined with over-applied nitrogen fertilizers results in serious nitrate pollution insurface and ground water,disrupting the balance of the global nitrogen cycle.Electrochemical nitrate...Accelerated industrialization combined with over-applied nitrogen fertilizers results in serious nitrate pollution insurface and ground water,disrupting the balance of the global nitrogen cycle.Electrochemical nitrate reduction(eNO_(3)RR)emerges as an attractive strategy to simultaneously enable nitrate removal and decentralized ammo-nia fabrication,restoring the globally perturbed nitrogen cycle.However,complex deoxygenation-hydrogenationprocesses and sluggish proton-electron transfer kinetics significantly hinder practical application of eNO_(3)RR.In this study,we developed carbon-coated Cu-Ni bimetallic catalysts derived from metal-organic frameworks(MOFs)to facilitate eNO_(3)RR.The unique structural features of catalyst promote enhanced synergy between Cuand Ni,effectively addressing critical challenges in nitrate reduction.Comprehensive structural and electrochem-ical analysis demonstrate that electrochemical nitrate-to-nitrite conversion mainly takes place on active Cu sites,the introduction of Ni could efficiently accelerate the generation of aquatic active hydrogen,promoting the hy-drogenation of oxynitrides during eNO_(3)RR.In addition,Ni introduction could push up the d-band center of thecatalyst,thus enhancing the adsorption and activation of nitrate and the corresponding intermediates.Detailedreaction pathways for nitrate-to-ammonia conversion are illuminated by rotating disk electrode(RDE),in-situFourier-transform infrared spectroscopy,in-situ Raman spectrum and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS).Benefiting from the synergistic effect of Cu and Ni,optimum catalyst exhibited excellent nitrate reductionperformance.This work provides a new idea for elucidating the underlying eNO_(3)RR reaction mechanisms andcontributes a promising strategy for designing efficient bimetallic electrocatalysts.展开更多
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52101279)the Key Scientific Research Foundation of Education department of Hunan Province(No.24A0003)the Scientific Research Project of Education Department of Hunan Province(No.21B000)and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Central South University.
文摘Accelerated industrialization combined with over-applied nitrogen fertilizers results in serious nitrate pollution insurface and ground water,disrupting the balance of the global nitrogen cycle.Electrochemical nitrate reduction(eNO_(3)RR)emerges as an attractive strategy to simultaneously enable nitrate removal and decentralized ammo-nia fabrication,restoring the globally perturbed nitrogen cycle.However,complex deoxygenation-hydrogenationprocesses and sluggish proton-electron transfer kinetics significantly hinder practical application of eNO_(3)RR.In this study,we developed carbon-coated Cu-Ni bimetallic catalysts derived from metal-organic frameworks(MOFs)to facilitate eNO_(3)RR.The unique structural features of catalyst promote enhanced synergy between Cuand Ni,effectively addressing critical challenges in nitrate reduction.Comprehensive structural and electrochem-ical analysis demonstrate that electrochemical nitrate-to-nitrite conversion mainly takes place on active Cu sites,the introduction of Ni could efficiently accelerate the generation of aquatic active hydrogen,promoting the hy-drogenation of oxynitrides during eNO_(3)RR.In addition,Ni introduction could push up the d-band center of thecatalyst,thus enhancing the adsorption and activation of nitrate and the corresponding intermediates.Detailedreaction pathways for nitrate-to-ammonia conversion are illuminated by rotating disk electrode(RDE),in-situFourier-transform infrared spectroscopy,in-situ Raman spectrum and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS).Benefiting from the synergistic effect of Cu and Ni,optimum catalyst exhibited excellent nitrate reductionperformance.This work provides a new idea for elucidating the underlying eNO_(3)RR reaction mechanisms andcontributes a promising strategy for designing efficient bimetallic electrocatalysts.
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China(52101279)the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Provience(2020JJ5688)+3 种基金the Science Research Initiation Fund of Central South University(202045012)the Scientific Research Project of Education Department of Hunan Province(21B000)Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials&Devices,Soochow Universitythe Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Central South University(2020zzts753)。