Ambient Electroreduction of Nitrite to Ammonia over Ni Nanoparticle Supported on Molasses-Derived Carbon Sheets
Xun He, Xiuhong Li, Xiaoya Fan, Jun Li, Donglin Zhao, Longcheng Zhang, Shengjun Sun, Yongsong Luo, Dongdong Zheng, Lisi Xie, Abdullah M. Asiri, Qian Liu, Xuping Sun
Abstract
Electrochemical nitrite (NO2–) reduction is a promising approach for ambient ammonia (NH3) synthesis and simultaneous mitigation of NO2– contaminant in wastewater. Herein, we report Ni nanoparticle supported on molasses-derived carbon sheets (Ni@MDC) as an earth-abundant electrocatalyst for NO2–-to-NH3 conversion. When tested in alkaline solutions with 0.1 M NO2–, such Ni@MDC obtains a high NH3 yield of 6.3 mg h–1 mgcat–1 with a Faradaic efficiency of 65.4% at −0.8 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode under ambient conditions. Furthermore, it shows remarkable electrochemical stability during long-term electrolysis and cycling tests.