Abstract
Metal–organic framework-based materials are promising single-site catalysts for electrocatalytic nitrate (NO3−) reduction to value-added ammonia (NH3) on account of well-defined structures and functional tunability but still lack a molecular-level understanding for designing the high-efficient catalysts. Here, we proposed a molecular engineering strategy to enhance electrochemical NO3−-to-NH3 conversion by introducing the carbonyl groups into 1,2,4,5-tetraaminobenzene (BTA) based metal-organic polymer to precisely modulate the electronic state of metal centers. Due to the electron-withdrawing properties of the carbonyl group, metal centers can be converted to an electron-deficient state, fascinating the NO3− adsorption and promoting continuous hydrogenation reactions to produce NH3. Compared to CuBTA with a low NO3−-to-NH3 conversion efficiency of 85.1 %, quinone group functionalization endows the resulting copper tetraminobenzoquinone (CuTABQ) distinguished performance with a much higher NH3 FE of 97.7 %. This molecular engineering strategy is also universal, as verified by the improved NO3−-to-NH3 conversion performance on different metal centers, including Co and Ni. Furthermore, the assembled rechargeable Zn−NO3− battery based on CuTABQ cathode can deliver a high power density of 12.3 mW cm−2. This work provides advanced insights into the rational design of metal complex catalysts through the molecular-level regulation for NO3− electroreduction to value-added NH3.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e202309930 |
Journal | Angewandte Chemie - International Edition |
Volume | 62 |
Issue number | 48 |
Early online date | 12 Oct 2023 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 27 Nov 2023 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China under Project 2019YFA0705104. This work was supported in part by InnoHK Project on [Project 1.3 ‐ Flexible and Stretchable Technologies (FAST) for monitoring of CVD risk factors: Sensing and Applications] at Hong Kong Centre for Cerebro‐cardiovascular Health Engineering (COCHE). We thank Dr. M. K. TSE from the Department of Chemistry of the City University of Hong Kong for the NMR measurements.Keywords
- Metal–Organic Framework
- NH3 Synthesis
- NO3− Reduction
- Zinc Batteries