Citation: Yunqing Zhu, Kaiyue Wen, Xuequan Wan, Gaigai Dong, Junfeng Niu. High efficiency conversion of low concentration nitrate boosted with amorphous Cu⁰ nanorods prepared via in-situ reconstruction[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2025, 36(6): 110399. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2024.110399 shu

High efficiency conversion of low concentration nitrate boosted with amorphous Cu⁰ nanorods prepared via in-situ reconstruction

Yunqing Zhu ^{a, *,} ,
Kaiyue Wen ^a ,
Xuequan Wan ^a ,
Gaigai Dong ^a ,
Junfeng Niu ^b

a.
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710021, China
b.
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China

zhuyunqing@sust.edu.cn

Received Date: 23 May 2024
Revised Date: 23 July 2024
Accepted Date: 31 August 2024
Available Online: 1 September 2024

Figures(6)

Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction (NO₃⁻RR) is a green and competitive method for removing nitrate from water, requiring highly active and long-term stable electrocatalysts. In this work, we report a Cu⁰ nanorod catalyst with disordered structure (re-Cu NRs), prepared by electrochemical in situ reconfiguration of copper-based nitrides (Cu₃N NRs). The amorphous structure allows the exposure of abundant active sites to enhance the electrocatalytic activity because of the disordered atomic arrangement. At a potential of −1.2 V vs. Ag/AgCl, the re-Cu NRs catalyst achieved nearly 100% nitrate conversion within 120 min at a low nitrate concentration (50 mg/L), without the accumulation of nitrite. In-situ DEMS detection reveals that the NO₃⁻RR on re-Cu NRs followed the pathway of *NO₃⁻→ *NO₂⁻→ *NO → *N → *NH → *NH₂ → *NH₃. Furthermore, combining this proposed pathway with electrochlorination could efficiently transform ammonia into harmless N₂ (~99.41%). Theoretical calculations confirm that the amorphous structure on the surface of re-Cu NRs catalysts can facilitate strongly adsorbed nitrate, weaken the rate-determining step of *NH₃ → NH₃, and suppress hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). This study provides a new approach for designing efficient and stable amorphous catalysts for electrocatalytic nitrate reduction.
- Cu₃N,
- Electrochemical reconstruction,
- Cu⁰ nanorods,
- Amorphous structure,
- Electrochemical nitrate reduction
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通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com

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沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院沈阳 110142

High efficiency conversion of low concentration nitrate boosted with amorphous Cu0 nanorods prepared via in-situ reconstruction

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通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com

High efficiency conversion of low concentration nitrate boosted with amorphous Cu⁰ nanorods prepared via in-situ reconstruction