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The electrochemical reduction of nitrate (NO3-) to ammonia (NH3) (NO3RR) represents an environmentally sustainable strategy for NH3 production while concurrently addressing water pollution challenges. Nevertheless, the intrinsic complexity of this multi-step reaction severely constrains both the selectivity and efficiency of NO3RR. Copper-based electrocatalysts have been extensively investigated for NO3RR but often suffer from nitrite (NO2-) accumulation, which stems from insufficient NO3-adsorption strength. This limitation often leads to rapid catalyst deactivation, hindered hydrogenation pathways, and reduced overall efficiency. Herein, we report a one-step green chemical reduction method to synthesize PtCuSnCo quarternary alloy nanoparticles with homogeneously distributed elements. Under practical NO3-concentrations, the optimized catalyst exhibited an impressive Faradaic efficiency approaching 100% and an outstanding selectivity of 95.6 +/- 2.9%. Mechanistic insights uncovered that SnCo sites robustly facilitated NO3-adsorption, complemented by the proficiency of PtCu sites in NO3-reduction. The synergistic spatial neighborhood effect between SnCo and PtCu sites efficiently stabilizes NO3-deoxygenation and suppresses NO2-accumulation. This tandem architecture achieves a finely tuned balance between adsorption strength and deoxygenation kinetics, enabling highly selective and efficient NO3RR. Our findings emphasize the indispensable role of engineered multi-metallic catalysts in overcoming persistent challenges of NO3RR, paving the way for advanced NH3 synthesis and environmental remediation. (c) 2025, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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CHINESE JOURNAL OF CATALYSIS
ISSN: 0253-9837
Year: 2025
Volume: 73
Page: 347-357
1 5 . 7 0 0
JCR@2023
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ESI Highly Cited Papers on the List: 0 Unfold All
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30 Days PV: 3
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