Sulfur induced surface reconfiguration of Ni1Cu3-S-T/CP anode for high-efficiency ammonia electro-oxidation

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Switzerland : 1996), 2023-01, Vol.452, p.139582, Article 139582
• Main Authors: Zhang, Huimin, Wang, Hailong, Tong, Xing, Zhou, Luanqi, Yang, Xu, Wang, Yifei, Zhang, Meng, Wu, Zucheng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ammonia oxidation reaction; Electrochemical tuning; Ni1Cu3-S-T/CP; Nitrogen removal; Surface reconfiguration
• ISSN: 1385-8947; 1873-3212
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2022.139582

This work reveals a new strategy that is suitable for the construction of non-noble metal nanomaterials and obtains a high-efficiency catalytic electrode of Ni1Cu3-S-T/CP for AOR, thus promoting the development of ammonia electro-oxidation technology. [Display omitted] •The Ni1Cu3-S-T/CP electrode was prepared by sulfur induced surface reconfiguration.•The electrode shows efficient catalytic activity to ammonia oxidation reaction.•The function mechanism of Cu doping into NiCu was clearly revealed by DFT.•The efficiency of NH4+-N removal reached to 96.23 % after 5 h electrolysis.•A feasible preparation method of non-noble metal catalytic materials is provided. As an effective method of removing ammonia from wastewater, ammonia electro-oxidation technology has emerged as an attention treatment owing to its simple operation and better tolerance to toxic pollutants. Notably, how to solve the sluggish kinetics of ammonia oxidation reaction (AOR) is the key to the technology. In this work, a high-efficiency catalytic electrode was obtained by deepening the surface electrochemical reconfiguration of NiCu nanoparticles through sulfur-doping. Electrochemical test showed that the Ni1Cu3-S-T/CP electrode had a maximum current density of 150 mA/cm2 at 1.69 V vs RHE. Density functional theory calculations further elucidated that the proper introduction of copper optimized the electron band structure and ameliorated ammonia adsorption and desorption capacity, forcing the early start of AOR at low potential. Consequently, after 5 h electrolysis at 1.50 V, the removal efficiency of NH4+-N was 96.23 %. As well as the electrode maintained good stability in 12 cycles tests.