In recent years, the development of highly efficient electrocatalysts for the nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR) to ammonia (NH3) has become essential for achieving sustainable nitrogen cycling. Herein, a sea urchin-like CuNiO with oxygen vacancies (Vo-CuNiO) was synthesized via a gas-assisted solvothermal method followed by calcination. This unique hierarchical architecture facilitates the formation of abundant oxygen vacancies and optimizes the adsorption of key intermediates, while the exposure of oxygen-bridged multi-interface sites (such as Cu–O–Cu, Ni–O–Ni, and Cu–O–Ni interfacial sites) enhances mass transport. The obtained Vo-CuNiO-350 catalyst exhibited exceptional performance in the electrocatalytic NO3RR to NH3 under neutral conditions, achieving a peak NH3 Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 94.9% at −0.8 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and a maximum NH3 yield rate of 480.9 μmol·h−1·cm−2 at −1.0 V vs. RHE. In-situ attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated that the oxygen vacancies and bimetallic interface sites in the Vo-CuNiO-350 catalyst provide a synergistic effect to enhance NO3RR performance. Specifically, the oxygen vacancies and the newly constructed Cu–O–Ni interface sites optimize the adsorption of intermediates and promote the reduction of NO3− to NH3. The further continuous electrocatalytic NH3 synthesis tests indicate that this catalyst can achieve high-purity NH4Cl production at a rate of 14.0 mg·h−1. Moreover, in a self-assembled Zn-NO3− hybrid battery, an output power density of 2.88 mW·cm−2 was attained, thereby enabling simultaneous electricity generation and NH3 synthesis. This work demonstrates a viable pathway for converting nitrate from wastewater into ammonia while co-producing electrical energy.
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Nano Research 2026, 19(8): 94908769
Published: 24 June 2026
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