Affiliation:
1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering South China University of Technology Guangzhou 510640 China
2. Beijing Key Laboratory for Membrane Materials and Engineering Department of Chemical Engineering Tsinghua University Beijing 100084 China
3. Department of Colloid Chemistry Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces Research Campus Golm Am Mühlenberg 1 14476 Potsdam Germany
Abstract
AbstractThe aqueous electrocatalytic reduction of NO3−into NH3(NitrRR) presents a sustainable route applicable to NH3production and potentially energy storage. However, the NitrRR involves a directly eight‐electron transfer process generally required a large overpotential (<−0.2 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (vs. RHE)) to reach optimal efficiency. Here, inspired by biological nitrate respiration, the NitrRR was separated into two stages along a [2+6]‐electron pathway to alleviate the kinetic barrier. The system employed a Cu nanowire catalyst produces NO2−and NH3with current efficiencies of 91.5 % and 100 %, respectively at lower overpotentials (>+0.1vs. RHE). The high efficiency for such a reduction process was further explored in a zinc‐nitrate battery. This battery could be specified by a high output voltage of 0.70 V, an average energy density of 566.7 Wh L−1at 10 mA cm−2and a power density of 14.1 mW cm−2, which is well beyond all previously reported similar concepts.
Funder
National Key Research and Development Program of China
National Natural Science Foundation of China
National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents