Ammonia and formate cosynthesis via nitrate electroreduction combined with methanol electrooxidation over nitrogen-doped carbon-encapsulated nickel iron phosphide
{"title":"Ammonia and formate cosynthesis via nitrate electroreduction combined with methanol electrooxidation over nitrogen-doped carbon-encapsulated nickel iron phosphide","authors":"Zongyi Wang, Jiuli Chang, Zhiyong Gao","doi":"10.1039/d4qi02350a","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Nitrate–methanol co-electrolysis involving the cathodic nitrate reduction reaction (NO<small><sub>3</sub></small>RR) combined with the anodic methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) is a viable way to synchronously produce ammonia (NH<small><sub>3</sub></small>) and formate <em>via</em> gentle, sustainable and energy-saving “E-refining” and “E-reforming” means. An efficient bifunctional catalyst for the NO<small><sub>3</sub></small>RR and MOR is pivotal to achieve such a goal. In this work, a nitrogen-doped carbon-encapsulated nickel iron phosphide hybrid (Ni<small><sub>2</sub></small>FeP@NC) was prepared as a bifunctional catalyst for the NO<small><sub>3</sub></small>RR and MOR, and its electrochemical performance for nitrate–methanol co-electrolysis was investigated. The Ni<small><sub>2</sub></small>FeP@NC catalyst exhibited a high NH<small><sub>3</sub></small> yield (0.47 mmol h<small><sup>−1</sup></small> cm<small><sup>−2</sup></small> at −0.35 V) and faradaic efficiency (FE, 93% at −0.15 V) for the NO<small><sub>3</sub></small>RR and simultaneously demonstrated high MOR efficiency for formate production (yield of 1.62 mmol h<small><sup>−1</sup></small> cm<small><sup>−2</sup></small> at 1.7 V and FE of around 95%). The bifunctional catalytic features of the nitrate–methanol co-electrolysis system enabled the concurrent production of NH<small><sub>3</sub></small> and formate at low input voltage. This work provides a viable paradigm for pairwise electrosynthesis of valuable chemicals <em>via</em> “E-refining” and “E-reforming” through the rational design of bifunctional catalysts.","PeriodicalId":79,"journal":{"name":"Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d4qi02350a","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, INORGANIC & NUCLEAR","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Nitrate–methanol co-electrolysis involving the cathodic nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR) combined with the anodic methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) is a viable way to synchronously produce ammonia (NH3) and formate via gentle, sustainable and energy-saving “E-refining” and “E-reforming” means. An efficient bifunctional catalyst for the NO3RR and MOR is pivotal to achieve such a goal. In this work, a nitrogen-doped carbon-encapsulated nickel iron phosphide hybrid (Ni2FeP@NC) was prepared as a bifunctional catalyst for the NO3RR and MOR, and its electrochemical performance for nitrate–methanol co-electrolysis was investigated. The Ni2FeP@NC catalyst exhibited a high NH3 yield (0.47 mmol h−1 cm−2 at −0.35 V) and faradaic efficiency (FE, 93% at −0.15 V) for the NO3RR and simultaneously demonstrated high MOR efficiency for formate production (yield of 1.62 mmol h−1 cm−2 at 1.7 V and FE of around 95%). The bifunctional catalytic features of the nitrate–methanol co-electrolysis system enabled the concurrent production of NH3 and formate at low input voltage. This work provides a viable paradigm for pairwise electrosynthesis of valuable chemicals via “E-refining” and “E-reforming” through the rational design of bifunctional catalysts.