Restoring the Nitrogen Cycle by Electrochemical Reduction of Nitrate: Progress and Prospects

Abstract

The increasing amount of anthropogenic nitrogen has resulted in alarming levels of nitrate in bodies of water and caused a cascade of damage to the environment and human health. Electrochemical nitrate reduction is an efficient strategy ancillary to biological nitrogen cycle management, which utilizes electrons as green reductants and rebalances the N 2 cycle. In this review, the fundamental principles and implementation of electrochemical nitrate reduction are described to lay the foundation for the eventual large-scale application in the remediation of nitrate-laden wastewaters. Factors that influence the activity and selectivity of electrochemical nitrate reduction are also discussed. Moreover, electrolytic cell design and construction are discussed via a rational choice of critical components and assembly. Finally, a roadmap for the development of highly selective nitrate reduction catalysts is proposed. This review attempts to provide a practical strategy for electrochemical nitrogen cycle management and aims to stimulate future research for final implementation.

A unified topology approach to dot-, rod-, and sheet-MOFs

“…48 Given the affinity of cerium ions to nitrate ions, 47 it would be interesting to explore CTH-15 or related systems in catalytic electrochemical nitrate reduction, an important issue due to a pressing need to remove nitrate from drinking water. 49,50 We note that the general requirements for a nitrate reduction cathode as pointed out by Zeng et al 50 ''liquid channels for reactant delivery and gas channels for product separation'' seem to fit nicely with the MOF concept. 50,51 In this context, the low toxicity of cerium and its relative high earth abundance, on the level of copper, is noteworthy.…”

Electrochemical ammonia synthesis via nitrate reduction on Fe single atom catalyst

“…This finding is in agreement with a previous computational report on Pd surface 58 . Nitrate reduction on polycrystalline and single crystals of transition metals have been studied in the past 34,[59][60][61][62][63][64] . Liu et al 40 suggested that N* and O* binding energies can be used as descriptors for nitrate reduction performance on TMs.…”

Rational design on photo(electro)catalysts for artificial nitrogen looping

“…[108][109][110] For example, waste gas and sewage treatment are very important and attracting widespread attention. 111 Consequently, the NOR and reduction of nitrogen oxides are still hot research topics to be further studied.…”

“…Meanwhile, the eutrophication and pollution of water caused by excessive nitrate also should be paid attention to 108‐110 . For example, waste gas and sewage treatment are very important and attracting widespread attention 111 . Consequently, the NOR and reduction of nitrogen oxides are still hot research topics to be further studied.…”