ITO@TiO2 nanoarray: An efficient and robust nitrite reduction reaction electrocatalyst toward NH3 production under ambient conditions
Shaoxiong Li,
Jie Liang,
Peipei Wei,
Qian Liu,
Lisi Xie,
Yonglan Luo,
Xuping Sun
Affiliations
Shaoxiong Li
Chemical Synthesis and Pollution Control Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637002, Sichuan, China
Jie Liang
Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, Sichuan, China
Peipei Wei
Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, Sichuan, China
Qian Liu
Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu, 610106, Sichuan, China
Lisi Xie
Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu, 610106, Sichuan, China
Yonglan Luo
Chemical Synthesis and Pollution Control Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637002, Sichuan, China; Corresponding authors.
Xuping Sun
Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, Sichuan, China; Corresponding authors.
Ambient electrochemical nitrite (NO2-) reduction is viewed as an effective and sustainable approach for simultaneously removing NO2- and producing ammonia (NH3). However, the complex multi-electron transfer steps involved in the NO2- reduction reaction (NO2-RR) lead to sluggish kinetics and low product selectivity toward NH3, underscoring the need for NH3 synthesis electrocatalysts with high activity and durability. Herein, we report amorphous indium–tin oxide sputtered on a TiO2 nanobelt array on a Ti plate (ITO@TiO2/TP) as a 3D NH3-producing catalyst for the NO2-. In 0.5 M LiClO4 with 0.1 M NO2-, it shows greatly boosted NO2-RR activity toward NH3 production, with excellent selectivity, achieving a large NH3 yield of 411.3 μmol h−1 cm−2 and a high Faradaic efficiency of 82.6%. It also shows high durability for continuous electrolysis. A Zn‐NO2- battery with ITO@TiO2/TP cathode offers an NH3 yield of 23.1 μmol h−1 cm−2 and a peak power density of 1.22 mW cm−2.
