Near-Unity Nitrate to Ammonia conversion via reactant enrichment at the solid-liquid interface

Wanru Liao, Jun Wang, Yao Tan, Xin Zi, Changxu Liu, Qiyou Wang, Li Zhu, Cheng-Wei Kao, Ting-Shan Chan, Hongmei Li, Yali Zhang, Kang Liu, Chao Cai, Junwei Fu, Beidou Xi (), Emiliano Cortés (), Liyuan Chai and Min Liu ()
Additional contact information
Wanru Liao: Central South University
Jun Wang: Central South University
Yao Tan: Central South University
Xin Zi: Central South University
Changxu Liu: University of Exeter
Qiyou Wang: Central South University
Li Zhu: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Cheng-Wei Kao: National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center
Ting-Shan Chan: National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center
Hongmei Li: Central South University
Yali Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Kang Liu: Central South University
Chao Cai: Central South University
Junwei Fu: Central South University
Beidou Xi: Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences
Emiliano Cortés: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Liyuan Chai: Central South University
Min Liu: Central South University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Electroreduction of nitrate (NO3‒) to ammonia (NH3) is a promising approach for addressing energy challenges. However, the activity is limited by NO3‒ mass transfer, particularly at reduction potential, where an abundance of electrons on the cathode surface repels NO3‒ from the inner Helmholtz plane (IHP). This constraint becomes pronounced as NO3‒ concentration decreases, impeding practical applications in the conversion of NO3‒-to-NH3. Herein, we propose a generic strategy of catalyst bandstructure engineering for the enrichment of negatively charged ions through solid-liquid (S-L) junction-mediated charge rearrangement within IHP. Specifically, during NO3‒ reduction, the formation of S-L junction induces hole transfer from Ag-doped MoS2 (Ag-MoS2) to electrode/electrolyte interface, triggering abundant positive charges on the IHP to attract NO3‒. Thus, Ag-MoS2 exhibits a ~ 28.6-fold NO3‒ concentration in the IHP than the counterpart without junction, and achieves near-100% NH3 Faradaic efficiency with an NH3 yield rate of ~20 mg h‒1 cm‒2 under ultralow NO3‒ concentrations.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-60671-y

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