Prussian Blue Derived High‐Entropy Alloy Catalysts for Enhanced Electrochemical Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia
Weiye Qiu, Ying Guo, Xian‐Zhu Fu, Jing‐Li Luo
Abstract
Abstract Electrochemical nitrate reduction (NO 3 RR) to ammonia is a promising method for treating nitrate pollutant and potentially replacing the Haber‐Bosch process for ammonia production. High‐entropy nanoalloys (HEAs) show significant potential in catalyzing NO₃RR due to their compositional diversity, which results in a unique “cocktail” effect beneficial for the multistep NO 3 RR process. Herein, a high‐entropy alloy catalyst consisting of Co, Ni, Cu, Mn, and Fe elements is prepared through the pyrolysis of a high‐entropy Prussian blue precursor. After optimizing the elemental proportions, the Fe HEA catalyst exhibits exceptional NO 3 RR activity with an NH 3 Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 92% and a yield rate of 3.25 mg h −1 cm −2 . Moreover, the electrochemical hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR) is applied to construct a NO 3 RR‐H Z OR flow cell. This cell system not only produces NH 3 , but also generates electricity, achieving a peak power density of 1.32 mW cm −2 . Theoretical investigations show that the excellent performance of HEA can be attributed to the “cocktail” effect induced by multi‐element composition, which results in a lower work function and a negative shifting of the d band center, thus favoring the charge transfer and hydrogenation process of NO 3 RR. This work highlights the remarkable potential of HEAs for multistep chemical production and expands their applications in energy conversion and electrosynthesis.