Size-Defined Ru Nanoclusters Supported by TiO2 Nanotubes Enable Low-Concentration Nitrate Electroreduction to Ammonia with Suppressed Hydrogen Evolution.

ABSTRACT

Anthropogenic nitrate pollution has an adverse impact on the environment and human health. As part of a sustainable nitrate management strategy, electrochemical denitrification is studied as an innovative strategy for nutrients recycling and recovering. It is, however, challenging to selectively electro-reduce nitrate with low-concentration for ammonia. Herein, the photo-deposition of size-defined Ru nanoclusters (NCs, average size ≈1.66 nm) on TiO2 nanotubes (NTs) is demonstrated, which show improved performance for nitrate-to-ammonia electroreduction with a maximum yield rate of ≈600 µg h-1  cm-2 and a faradic efficiency (FE) of > 90.0% across a broad range of potentials in comparison with electrodeposited Ru nanoparticles (NPs, average size ≈23.78 nm) on TiO2 NTs. Experimental and theoretical evidence further suggests the small-size Ru NCs with the intrinsically enhanced selectivity and activity because of the strong metal/substrate interaction and unsaturated coordination state. The findings highlight the size effect on Ru-based catalyst supported on metal oxides, a versatile catalytic model, which allows the regulation of hydrogen adsorption to favor ammonia production over the competing hydrogen evolution reaction.