NiMoO4 nanorods with oxygen vacancies self-supported on Ni foam towards high-efficiency electrocatalytic conversion of nitrite to ammonia

Guoguo Wang; Qiuyue Chen; Jing Zhang; Xuguang An; Qian Liu; Lisi Xie; Weitang Yao; Xunping Sun; Qingquan Kong

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.05.110

NiMoO₄ nanorods with oxygen vacancies self-supported on Ni foam towards high-efficiency electrocatalytic conversion of nitrite to ammonia

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Oct:647:73-80. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.05.110. Epub 2023 May 22.

Authors

Guoguo Wang¹, Qiuyue Chen¹, Jing Zhang², Xuguang An², Qian Liu², Lisi Xie², Weitang Yao², Xunping Sun³, Qingquan Kong⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Mechanical Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, Sichuan, China.
² School of Mechanical Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, Sichuan, China; Interdisciplinary Materials Research Center, Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, Sichuan, China.
³ Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, Sichuan, China; College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, Shandong, China. Electronic address: xpsun@uestc.edu.cn.
⁴ School of Mechanical Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, Sichuan, China; Interdisciplinary Materials Research Center, Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: kongqingquan@cdu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37245271
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.05.110

Abstract

As an eco-friendly and sustainable strategy, the electrochemical reduction of nitrite (NO₂^-) can simultaneous generation of NH₃ and treatment of NO₂^- contamination in the environment. Herein, monoclinic NiMoO₄ nanorods with abundant oxygen vacancies self-supported on Ni foam (NiMoO₄/NF) are considered high-performance electrocatalysts for ambient NH₃ synthesis by reduction of NO₂^-, which can deliver an outstanding yield of 18089.39 ± 227.98 μg h^-1 cm^-2 and a preferable FE of 94.49 ± 0.42% at -0.8 V. Additionally, its performance remains relatively stable during long-term operation as well as cycling tests. Furthermore, density functional theory calculations unveil the vital role of oxygen vacancies in promoting nitrite adsorption and activation, ensuring efficient NO₂^-RR towards NH₃. A Zn-NO₂^- battery with NiMoO₄/NF as the cathode shows high battery performance as well.

Keywords: Density functional theory; Electrocatalysis; NO(2)(–) reduction reaction; NiMoO(4) nanorods.