Ce-doped copper oxide and copper vanadate Cu₃VO₄ hybrid for boosting nitrate electroreduction to ammonia

The electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia reaction (ENO₃RR) holds great potential as a cost-effective method for synthesizing ammonia. This work designed a cerium (Ce) doped Cu₂₊₁O/Cu₃VO₄ catalyst. The coupling of vanadium-based oxides with Cu₂₊₁O effectively adjusts the catalyst's electronic structure, addressing the inherent issues of limited activity and low conductivity in typical copper-based oxides; moreover, Ce doping generates oxygen vacancies (O_v), providing more active sites and thereby enhancing the ENO₃RR performance. The catalyst exhibits superior NH₃Faradaic efficiency (93.7 %) with a NH₃ yield of 18.905 mg h^-1 cm^-2at -0.5 V vs. RHE under alkaline conditions. This study provides guidance for the design of highly efficient catalysts for ENO₃RR.