TY - JOUR
T1 - Atomic hydrogen provision by cobalt sites in a bimetallic Ni/Co(OH)x and trimetallic Ni/Cu2O/Co(OH)x configurations for superior ammonia production
AU - Cerrón-Calle, Gabriel Antonio
AU - Wines, Annika
AU - Garcia-Segura, Sergi
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2023/7/5
Y1 - 2023/7/5
N2 - Electrochemical reduction of nitrate provides a green alternative for decentralized ammonia production by selectively transforming a pollutant in an added-value product. Electrocatalysts containing platinum group metals (PGM) present a high selectivity and stability for ammonia production. However, these cost-prohibitive elements motivate the design of catalysts based on earth-abundant elements with comparable performance. Herein, Ni/Co(OH)x and Ni/Cu2O/Co(OH)x interfaces illustrate high competitiveness as PGM-free substitutive electrocatalyst. Evaluation of synergistic effects and mechanisms suggest co-existing direct charge transfer reduction and catalytic hydrogenation by atomic hydrogen provision over Co(OH)x sites. Trimetallic configuration reached high nitrate conversion (90.3 %) in less than 120 min when treating solutions at environmental-relevant concentration of 30 mg L−1 NO3--N. Meanwhile, electrode stability evaluation demonstrated high activity retention (>90 %) and negligible metal leaching after 12 h of sustained use. These results motivate the exploration of electrocatalyst based on earth-abundant materials for electrochemically driven N-resource recovery.
AB - Electrochemical reduction of nitrate provides a green alternative for decentralized ammonia production by selectively transforming a pollutant in an added-value product. Electrocatalysts containing platinum group metals (PGM) present a high selectivity and stability for ammonia production. However, these cost-prohibitive elements motivate the design of catalysts based on earth-abundant elements with comparable performance. Herein, Ni/Co(OH)x and Ni/Cu2O/Co(OH)x interfaces illustrate high competitiveness as PGM-free substitutive electrocatalyst. Evaluation of synergistic effects and mechanisms suggest co-existing direct charge transfer reduction and catalytic hydrogenation by atomic hydrogen provision over Co(OH)x sites. Trimetallic configuration reached high nitrate conversion (90.3 %) in less than 120 min when treating solutions at environmental-relevant concentration of 30 mg L−1 NO3--N. Meanwhile, electrode stability evaluation demonstrated high activity retention (>90 %) and negligible metal leaching after 12 h of sustained use. These results motivate the exploration of electrocatalyst based on earth-abundant materials for electrochemically driven N-resource recovery.
KW - Electrochemical water treatment
KW - Multi-metallic electrocatalysts
KW - Resource recovery
KW - Three-dimensional electrode
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U2 - 10.1016/j.apcatb.2023.122540
DO - 10.1016/j.apcatb.2023.122540
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85149416173
SN - 0926-3373
VL - 328
JO - Applied Catalysis B: Environmental
JF - Applied Catalysis B: Environmental
M1 - 122540
ER -