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. 2026 Feb 10:e03623.
doi: 10.1002/chem.202503623. Online ahead of print.

Construction of CuO/Co3O4 Heterojunction Catalyst for High-Efficiency Ammonia Synthesis via Nitrate Reduction

Sha Song  1 , Zhiwei Wang  2 , Xinxiang Pei  2 , Mingying Chen  2 , Zhonghua Xu  3 , Asmaa Farouk  4 , Mohamed S Hamdy  4 , Youcai Meng  2 , Xiujuan Wu  5 , Xuping Sun  6 , Xijun Liu  2
Affiliations

Construction of CuO/Co3O4 Heterojunction Catalyst for High-Efficiency Ammonia Synthesis via Nitrate Reduction

Sha Song et al. Chemistry. .

Abstract

Electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR) offers a sustainable approach to convert nitrate pollutants into ammonia (NH3). However, challenges such as low NH3 yield, competition from the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and limited nitrate adsorption restrict its efficiency. Here, we developed CuO/Co3O4 heterojunction catalysts with strong interfacial coupling that synergistically modulate the electronic structure to promote efficient electron transfer. This enhances nitrate adsorption and activation while suppressing HER by accelerating active hydrogen species formation. The catalyst demonstrated a high Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 94.58%, accompanied by an NH3 production rate of 2306.44 µmol h-1 mg-1. Notably, it exhibited exceptional durability.

Keywords: NH3 production; Zn‐based batteries; catalyst design; nitrate reduction.

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