Bifunctional Cu₂O@CoMoO₄ for Synergistic Photothermal-Electrocatalytic Ammonia Production From Nitrate Coupled With...

The Photoelectrocatalytic nitrate reduction (PEC NO₃RR) for ammonia (NH₃) synthesis offers a promising pathway to address global nitrogen cycle synthesis; however, current systems remain insufficient for industrial applications, addressing the issue of sluggish nitric acid reduction kinetics and competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this study, the photothermal Cu₂O@CoMoO₄ composite was synthesized via a hydrothermal method and applied to PEC NO₃RR. Under an applied potential of -1.6 V (vs. RHE), the catalyst exhibited an excellent NH₃ yield rate of 5.4 mmol h^-1 cm^-2 and a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 96%. Furthermore, Cu₂O@CoMoO₄ also demonstrated high catalytic activity for the glucose oxidation reaction (GOR). In a 0.5 M Na₂SO₄ solution containing 100 mmol L^-1 glucose, the conversion rate reached 72.5%. Based on these results, we constructed a PEC cell integrating NO₃RR and GOR, enabling efficient synergistic ammonia synthesis and glucose oxidation at low applied voltages. This work highlights the potential application of such systems in environmental remediation and energy conversion.