Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2025

Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles Supported on Carbon Nanotube with Doped Co and N Atoms and its Catalytic Applications in Hydrogen Production
Published on: December 6, 2021
Breaking Linear Scaling Relation Limitations on a Dual-Driven Single-Atom Copper-Tungsten Oxide Catalyst for Ammonia
Fei Shen1, Shuxian He1, Xiangyi Tang1
1Engineering Research Center for Waste Oil Recovery Technology and Equipment, Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing, 400067, China.
Abstract:
Electrocatalytic reduction of nitrate (NO3 -, NO3RR) on single-atom copper catalysts (Cu-SACs) offers a sustainable approach to ammonia (NH3) synthesis using NO3 - pollutants as feedstocks. Nevertheless, this process suffers from inferior NO3RR kinetics and nitrite accumulation owing to the linear scaling relation limitations for SACs. To break these limitations, a single-atom Cu-bearing tungsten oxide catalyst (Cu1/WO3) was developed, which mediated a unique dual-driven NO3RR process. Specifically, WO3 dissociated water molecules and supplied the Cu1 site with ample protons, whereas the Cu1 site in an electron-deficient state converted NO3 - to NH3 efficiently. The Cu1/WO3 delivered an impressive NH3 production rate of 1274.4 mgN h-1 gCu -1, a NH3 selectivity of 99.2%, and a faradaic efficiency of 93.7% at -0.60 V, surpassing most reported catalysts. Furthermore, an integrated continuous-flow system consisting of a NO3RR cell and a vacuum-driven membrane separator was developed for NH3 synthesis from nitrate-contaminated water. Fed with the Yangtze River water containing ∼22.5 mg L-1 of NO3 --N, this system realized an NH3 production rate of 325.9 mgN h-1 gCu -1 and a collection efficiency of 98.3% at energy consumption of 17.11 kwh gN -1. This study provides a new dual-driven concept for catalyst design and establishes a foundation for sustainable NH3 synthesis from waste.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Catalysis
Reaction Stoichiometry
Reduction of Alkenes: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydrogenation
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...
Reduction of Alkenes: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Metals like palladium, platinum, and nickel are commonly used in their solid forms — fine powder on an inert surface. As these catalysts remain insoluble in the reaction mixture, they are referred to as heterogeneous catalysts.
The hydrogenation process takes place on the...
Reduction of Alkynes to cis-Alkenes: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Like alkenes, alkynes can be reduced to alkanes in the presence of transition metal catalysts such as Pt, Pd, or Ni. The reaction involves two sequential syn additions of hydrogen via a cis-alkene intermediate.
Reduction of Benzene to Cyclohexane: Catalytic Hydrogenation

