The fuel cell is a basic device to generate electricity from chemical fuels. It is often operated with oxygen as the oxidizing agent, but its sluggish reduction has become a key challenge. Herein, a conceptual oxygen-free design is demonstrated, namely a zinc-nitrate fuel cell, which converts nitrate waste into valuable ammonia and generates electricity simultaneously. The cell is constructed with zinc foil as the anode and ruthenium (Ru) nanoparticles loaded on nickel foam as the cathode. Catalyzed by Ru/Ni hydroxide hybrid, the reaction rate of 384 mmol h-1 mgRu-1 (1.4 × 10-6 ± 0.1 × 10-6 mol s-1 cm-2 ) and Faradic efficiency (FENH3 = 97% ± 2%) at -0.6 V versus reverse hydrogen electrode are achieved for nitrate-to-ammonia conversion. During ammonia production, such zinc-nitrate fuel cell can further deliver a maximum power density of 51.5 mW cm-2 (0.25 cm2 electrode) and 23.3 mW cm-2 (1 cm2 electrode), keeping ultrahigh Faradic efficiency (97% ± 4% at 40 mA cm-2 ) after long tests.
Keywords: ammonia; nickel; nitrate reduction; ruthenium; zinc-nitrate fuel cells.
© 2022 The Authors. Small published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.