Electrochemical reduction of nitrate,a common pollutant in aquatic environment,to valuable ammonia(NO3-RR) using renewably-sourced electricity has attracted widespread interests,with past efforts mainly focused on des...Electrochemical reduction of nitrate,a common pollutant in aquatic environment,to valuable ammonia(NO3-RR) using renewably-sourced electricity has attracted widespread interests,with past efforts mainly focused on designing electrocatalysts with high activity and selectivity.The detailed correlation between catalyst properties and NO3-RR kinetics,nevertheless,is still not fully understood.In this work,we modulate the surface oxygen species of Cu_(2)O via facet engineering,and systematically study the impact of these oxygen species on the NO_(3)^(-)RR activity.Combining advanced spectroscopic techniques,densi ty fu n ctional theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations,we find that while oxygen vacancies on Cu_(2)O(111) surface promote the adsorption of reactants and reaction intermediates,hydroxyl groups effectively inhibit the side reaction of hydrogen evolution and facilitate the hydrogenation process of NO3-RR.These two effects work in concert to render Cu_(2)O(111) facet the highest NO3-RR activity relative to those from other facets.Our study provides critical insights into the synergistic effect of exposed facets and surface oxygen species on heterogeneous catalysis,and offers a generalizable,facet engineeringbased strategy for improving the performance of a variety of electrocatalysts important for renewable energy conversion.展开更多
基金supported by the Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation,China(2021A1515012330)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(11975102)+2 种基金the State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering(2022PY03)the Guangdong Pearl River Talent Program,China(2017GC010281)supported by ME2 project under contract from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(11227902)。
文摘Electrochemical reduction of nitrate,a common pollutant in aquatic environment,to valuable ammonia(NO3-RR) using renewably-sourced electricity has attracted widespread interests,with past efforts mainly focused on designing electrocatalysts with high activity and selectivity.The detailed correlation between catalyst properties and NO3-RR kinetics,nevertheless,is still not fully understood.In this work,we modulate the surface oxygen species of Cu_(2)O via facet engineering,and systematically study the impact of these oxygen species on the NO_(3)^(-)RR activity.Combining advanced spectroscopic techniques,densi ty fu n ctional theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations,we find that while oxygen vacancies on Cu_(2)O(111) surface promote the adsorption of reactants and reaction intermediates,hydroxyl groups effectively inhibit the side reaction of hydrogen evolution and facilitate the hydrogenation process of NO3-RR.These two effects work in concert to render Cu_(2)O(111) facet the highest NO3-RR activity relative to those from other facets.Our study provides critical insights into the synergistic effect of exposed facets and surface oxygen species on heterogeneous catalysis,and offers a generalizable,facet engineeringbased strategy for improving the performance of a variety of electrocatalysts important for renewable energy conversion.
