Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction on Metallic CoNi-Terminated Catalyst with Industrial-Level Current Density in Neutral Medium.

Green ammonia synthesis through electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction (eNO 3 RR) can serve as an effective alternative to the traditional energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process. However, achieving high Faradaic efficiency (FE) at industrially relevant current density in neutral medium poses significant challenges in eNO 3 RR. Herein, with the guidance of theoretical calculation, we successfully designed and constructed a metallic CoNi-terminated catalyst on copper foam, which achieves an ammonia FE of up to 100% under industrial-level current density and very low overpotential (-0.15 V versus RHE) in a neutral medium. Multiple characterization results have confirmed that the maintained metal atom-terminated surface through interaction with copper atoms plays a crucial role in reducing overpotential and achieving high current density. By constructing a home-made gas stripping and absorption device, we demonstrated the complete conversion process for high-purity ammonium nitrate products, displaying the potential for practical application. Our work suggests a sustainable and promising process towards directly converting nitrate-containing pollutant solutions into practical nitrogen fertilizers. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.