Guidelines for Zn-NO₃ ^- Battery Test in Electrochemical Nitrogen Cycle Research

Industrial nitrate (NO₃ ^-) pollution and energy-intensive ammonia (NH₃) synthesis exacerbate ecological pressures. Zn-NO₃ ^- batteries, which integrate pollutant conversion, in situ NH₃ synthesis, and electricity generation, face performance incomparability issues due to the absence of standardized testing protocols. This study establishes the first standardized testing guideline for Zn-NO₃ ^- batteries. By analyzing recent literature sources, it reveals the correlation between insufficient disclosure of key parameters and highly scattered performance data. Systematic experiments demonstrate that: cathode sizes ≥1 cm² mitigate measurement distortion from capillary effects; anode electrolytes with ≥3 M KOH eliminate passivation layers via soluble [Zn(OH)₄]^{2 -} formation; chronoamperometry outperforms linear sweep voltammetry in circumventing double-layer capacitance interference; catalysts/electrodes must maintain >90% Faradaic efficiency of NH₃ across a wide current window to meet practical operation requirements; zero-gap flow cell incorporating anion exchange membrane reduce internal resistance by 94%, achieving a peak power density of 30.86 mW cm^{- 2}. This work proposes a standardized checklist encompassing nine core parameters, establishing a unified testing framework for reliable Zn-NO₃ ^- battery research and cross-platform data comparison.