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Atomic defects in pothole-rich two-dimensional copper nanoplates triggering enhanced electrocatalytic selective nitrate-to-ammonia transformation

The development of efficient catalysts for electrocatalytic selective conversion of nitrate pollutants into valuable ammonia is a project of far-reaching importance. This work demonstrated the in situ electroreduction of pre-synthesized CuO nanoplates into defect-rich metallic Cu nanoplates and eval...

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Published in:Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Materials for energy and sustainability, 2021-08, Vol.9 (3), p.16411-16417
Main Authors: Xu, You, Wang, Mingzhen, Ren, Kaili, Ren, Tianlun, Liu, Mengying, Wang, Ziqiang, Li, Xiaonian, Wang, Liang, Wang, Hongjing
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The development of efficient catalysts for electrocatalytic selective conversion of nitrate pollutants into valuable ammonia is a project of far-reaching importance. This work demonstrated the in situ electroreduction of pre-synthesized CuO nanoplates into defect-rich metallic Cu nanoplates and evaluated their electrocatalytic nitrate-to-ammonia activity. Concentrated atomic defects in the as-converted Cu nanoplates could favor the adsorption, enrichment and confinement of nitrate ions and pivotal reaction intermediates, selectively promoting eight-electron reduction (NH 3 formation). Consequently, the resultant defect-rich Cu nanoplates exhibit a significant ammonia production rate of 781.25 μg h −1 mg −1 , together with excellent nitrate conversion (93.26%), high ammonia selectivity (81.99%) and good electrocatalytic stability, superior to the defect-free Cu nanoplate counterpart. Isotope labelling experiments demonstrated that the source of ammonia was from nitrate. Both 1 H NMR and colorimetric methods were used to quantify the ammonia yield. Defect-rich copper nanoplates were synthesized by an in situ electroreduction method and exhibited enhanced activity for selective electroreduction of nitrate to ammonia.
ISSN:2050-7488
2050-7496
DOI:10.1039/d1ta04743d