As a carbon-free energy source and carrier, NH3 is an essential component used in agriculture, industry, and medicine. Currently, the main process for industrial ammonia production is the Haber-Bosch process, which is highly energy intensive with the emission of large amount of CO2. In contrast, electrochemical ammonia synthesis is a promising alternative for the Haber-Bosch process owing to its environmentally friendly nature, low energy consumption, and zero CO2 emission. Meanwhile, as a widespread source of nitrogen in industrial wastewater and contaminated groundwater, nitrate has received extensive attention as the source for the synthesis of NH3. In this study, a Ru-Cu/Cu2-O@Ti3C2 catalyst was successfully prepared by combining highly conductive Ti3C2 MXene with Ru-Cu/Cu2O@C. In 0.1 M KOH and KNO3 electrolyte, the Ru-Cu/Cu2O@Ti3C2 exhibited excellent nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR) performance, achieving the highest faradaic efficiency of 48.3% at -0.7 V with a corresponding NH3 yield of 128.35 μmol cm~(-2) h~(-1). The excellent catalytic performance of Ru-Cu/Cu2O@Ti3C2 was attributed to the synergistic interactions between multivalent Cu/Cu+, abundant metal active centers of Ru, and the excellent electrical conductivity of the two-dimensional Ti3C2 MXene. This study may provide a practical pathway for converting nitrate wastewater to valuable ammonia products.
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