Photoelectrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia over BiVO4/2D macromolecular with extremely low energy consumption

Photoelectrochemical nitrate ions (NO3−) reduction reaction (PEC NITRR) to produce ammonia (NH3) at ambient conditions could not only solve the problem of NO3− pollution, but also transform the NO3− to hydrogen carrier (NH3). Herein, we introduced Cu2+ by construction of BiVO4/CuPc, effectively adsorbed target reactant NO3− and further promote its effective conversion to NH3. This unique catalyst structure leads to a desirable NH3 yield (rNH3 = 12.98 μg h−1 cm−2) and Faraday efficiency (FE = 20.36%) at 0.1 V vs. RHE. Therefore, this work provides a new perspective for establishing a low energy consumption PEC NITRR to achieve sustainable transformation of pollutants.