The active facet of copper and its alloy for selective and efficient electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonia

Kartick Chandra Majhi; Zehui Zhang; Feng Chunhua; Yang Lei; Jason Chun-Ho Lam

doi:10.1016/j.cogsc.2024.100995

The active facet of copper and its alloy for selective and efficient electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonia

Kartick Chandra Majhi, Zehui Zhang, Feng Chunhua, Yang Lei, Jason Chun-Ho Lam^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Energy and Environment

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Electrochemical reduction of nitrate (NO₃⁻) to ammonia (NH₃) (the e-NO₃RR) is one of the most widely discussed methods to remediate the NO₃⁻ concentrations found in industrial and agricultural wastewater. The growing importance of NH₃ stems from its central role in fertilizer and advanced chemical production and as an emerging renewable hydrogen carrier due to its excellent hydrogen ratio and liquefiability.
This review highlights how the active facets of copper (Cu), the most widely documented electrocatalyst for e-NO₃RR, and its alloys transform NO₃⁻ to NH₃. The literature findings on Faradaic efficiency and the NH₃ formation rate in connection with the Cu facet, Cu oxide, and Cu alloys are discussed, followed by a discussion of the potential opportunities of the e-NO₃RR. We hope this review will provide helpful information to facilitate the design of the next generation of electrocatalysts.

© 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

Original language	English
Article number	100995
Journal	Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry
Volume	51
Online published	16 Dec 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2024.100995
Publication status	Published - Feb 2025

Funding

The author acknowledges the generous financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22109133) and the Research Grants Council (CityU 11302623).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation

Research Keywords

Active phase
Ammonia synthesis
Electrochemical nitrate reduction
Transition metal catalysts

RGC Funding Information

RGC-funded

Access Output

10.1016/j.cogsc.2024.100995

Other Access Options

Check CityUHK Library

Permanent Link

Right click to copy link

Cite this

@article{2eedac14e53840d7b05cc1532c58b791,

title = "The active facet of copper and its alloy for selective and efficient electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonia",

abstract = "Electrochemical reduction of nitrate (NO3−) to ammonia (NH3) (the e-NO3RR) is one of the most widely discussed methods to remediate the NO3− concentrations found in industrial and agricultural wastewater. The growing importance of NH3 stems from its central role in fertilizer and advanced chemical production and as an emerging renewable hydrogen carrier due to its excellent hydrogen ratio and liquefiability. This review highlights how the active facets of copper (Cu), the most widely documented electrocatalyst for e-NO3RR, and its alloys transform NO3− to NH3. The literature findings on Faradaic efficiency and the NH3 formation rate in connection with the Cu facet, Cu oxide, and Cu alloys are discussed, followed by a discussion of the potential opportunities of the e-NO3RR. We hope this review will provide helpful information to facilitate the design of the next generation of electrocatalysts. {\textcopyright} 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.",

keywords = "Active phase, Ammonia synthesis, Electrochemical nitrate reduction, Transition metal catalysts",

author = "Majhi, {Kartick Chandra} and Zehui Zhang and Feng Chunhua and Yang Lei and Lam, {Jason Chun-Ho}",

year = "2025",

month = feb,

doi = "10.1016/j.cogsc.2024.100995",

language = "English",

volume = "51",

journal = "Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry",

issn = "2452-2236",

publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",

}

The active facet of copper and its alloy for selective and efficient electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonia. / Majhi, Kartick Chandra; Zhang, Zehui; Chunhua, Feng et al.
In: Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, Vol. 51, 100995, 02.2025.

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - The active facet of copper and its alloy for selective and efficient electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonia

AU - Majhi, Kartick Chandra

AU - Zhang, Zehui

AU - Chunhua, Feng

AU - Lei, Yang

AU - Lam, Jason Chun-Ho

PY - 2025/2

Y1 - 2025/2

N2 - Electrochemical reduction of nitrate (NO3−) to ammonia (NH3) (the e-NO3RR) is one of the most widely discussed methods to remediate the NO3− concentrations found in industrial and agricultural wastewater. The growing importance of NH3 stems from its central role in fertilizer and advanced chemical production and as an emerging renewable hydrogen carrier due to its excellent hydrogen ratio and liquefiability. This review highlights how the active facets of copper (Cu), the most widely documented electrocatalyst for e-NO3RR, and its alloys transform NO3− to NH3. The literature findings on Faradaic efficiency and the NH3 formation rate in connection with the Cu facet, Cu oxide, and Cu alloys are discussed, followed by a discussion of the potential opportunities of the e-NO3RR. We hope this review will provide helpful information to facilitate the design of the next generation of electrocatalysts. © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

AB - Electrochemical reduction of nitrate (NO3−) to ammonia (NH3) (the e-NO3RR) is one of the most widely discussed methods to remediate the NO3− concentrations found in industrial and agricultural wastewater. The growing importance of NH3 stems from its central role in fertilizer and advanced chemical production and as an emerging renewable hydrogen carrier due to its excellent hydrogen ratio and liquefiability. This review highlights how the active facets of copper (Cu), the most widely documented electrocatalyst for e-NO3RR, and its alloys transform NO3− to NH3. The literature findings on Faradaic efficiency and the NH3 formation rate in connection with the Cu facet, Cu oxide, and Cu alloys are discussed, followed by a discussion of the potential opportunities of the e-NO3RR. We hope this review will provide helpful information to facilitate the design of the next generation of electrocatalysts. © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

KW - Active phase

KW - Ammonia synthesis

KW - Electrochemical nitrate reduction

KW - Transition metal catalysts

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85214230390&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/pubmetrics.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85214230390&origin=recordpage

U2 - 10.1016/j.cogsc.2024.100995

DO - 10.1016/j.cogsc.2024.100995

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

SN - 2452-2236

VL - 51

JO - Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry

JF - Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry

M1 - 100995

ER -

The active facet of copper and its alloy for selective and efficient electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonia

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Research Keywords

RGC Funding Information

Access Output

Other Access Options

Permanent Link

Other Files and Links

Fingerprint

GRF: The Mechanistic Investigation and Operando Analysis of the Catalytic Synergy in Mixed-phase MoS2 for Highly Selective Electrocatalytic Reduction of NO3(-)

Cite this

The active facet of copper and its alloy for selective and efficient electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonia

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Research Keywords

RGC Funding Information

Access Output

Other Access Options

Permanent Link

Other Files and Links

Fingerprint

Projects

GRF: The Mechanistic Investigation and Operando Analysis of the Catalytic Synergy in Mixed-phase MoS2 for Highly Selective Electrocatalytic Reduction of NO3(-)

Cite this