Interfacial engineering of Cu–Fe₂O₃ nanotube arrays with built-in electric field and oxygen vacancies for boosting the electrocatalytic reduction of nitrates

Abstract

The key of electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonium (ENRA) is to improve the slow mass transfer of nitrate and the effective electron transfer on the catalyst surface. Inspired by the...

Supported nano-sized precious metal catalysts for oxidation of catalytic volatile organic compounds

“…Moreover, the unique chemical properties of supports, such as the defects in the supports also pose a great influence on the catalytic performance. 62 Therefore, rationally selecting or tailoring the properties of supports is crucial for determining the catalytic performance of supported precious metal catalysts.…”

Interfacial built-in electric-field for boosting energy conversion electrocatalysis

“…In recent years, fabricating heterostructured catalysts with strong BIEFs has been accepted as a promising approach for achieving outstanding catalytic performance due to the nature of charge redistribution and electron transfer. [78][79][80][81] Taking Liu's work 82 as a good example, they synthesized Mott-Schottky Co/Co 2 P heterojunction nanoparticles encapsulated in the shell of N,P-codoped carbon nanotubes (Fig. 8(a) and (b)).…”

“…In recent years, low-concentration nitrate in surface and ground water has been increasing as vast amounts of nitrous oxides are being emitted from fossil fuel combustion, which causes increasing damage to the environment and human lives. 81,89 Therefore, nitrate removal from water and its subsequent conversion to highly valuable products is now attracting great interest. Ammonia, as one of the primary fertilizers, is mainly synthesized via the Haber-Bosch process, which will inevitably lead to large energy consumption.…”

Enhancing the selective electrochemical conversion of nitrate via π back-donation on Lewis acid sites induced by noble-metal doped CoP

“…1–3 Generally speaking, NRA is a process that includes the adsorption of NO 3 − , the dissociation of NO 3 − and the formation of the final product through the subsequent multi-step proton–electron interaction. 4–6 Hitherto, engineering design strategies including creation of oxygen vacancies 7,8 and a built-in electric field 9–11 have been widely used to promote the adsorption of NO 3 − on the surface of catalysts. On the premise of accomplishing the adsorption of NO 3 − , the catalyst should also have an easily regulated electronic structure to meet the requirements of the eight-electron nine-proton reaction in the NRA process.…”