Industrial‐current Ammonia Synthesis by Polarized Cuprous Cyanamide Coupled to Valorization of Glycerol at 4,000 mA cm<sup>−2</sup>
Jiacheng (Jayden) Wang, Jiacheng Wang, Huong Thi Bui, Huashuai Hu, Shuyi Kong, Xunlu Wang, Hongbo Zhu, Junqing Ma, Jintao Xu, Yihong Liu, Lijia Liu, Wei Chen, Hui Bi, Minghui Yang, Fuqiang Huang, Tore Brinck, Jiacheng Wang, Jiacheng Wang
Abstract
Abstract The electrocatalytic nitrate reduction (NO 3 RR) holds significance in both NH 3 synthesis and nitrate contamination remediation. However, achieving industrial‐scale current and high stability in membrane electrode assembly (MEA) electrolyzer remains challenging due to inherent high full‐cell voltage for sluggish NO 3 RR and water oxidation. Here, Cu 2 NCN with positive surface electrostatic potential V S (r) is applied as highly efficient NO 3 RR electrocatalysts to achieve industrial‐current and low‐voltage stable NH 3 production in MEA electrolyzer with coupled anodic glycerol oxidation. This paired electro‐refinery (PER) system reaches 4000 mA cm −2 at 2.52 V and remains stable at industrial‐level 1000 mA cm −2 for 100 h with the NH 3 production rate of 97000 µg NH3 h −1 cm −2 and a Faradaic efficiency of 83%. Theoretical calculations elucidate that the asymmetric and electron‐withdrawing [N−C≡N] units enhance polarization and V S (r), promoting robust and asymmetric adsorption of NO 3 * on Cu 2 NCN to facilitate O−N bond dissociation. A comprehensive techno‐economic analysis demonstrates the profitability and commercial viability of this coupled system. Our work opens a new avenue and marks a significant advancement in MEA systems for industrial NH 3 synthesis.