Abstract
Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction has been regarded as an efficient alternative route for ammonia production. Developing efficient, economical and environment-friendly cathodes is a significant concern for the practical applications of this method. Herein, we report a charcoal electrode fabricated by carbonizing natural wood for efficient nitrate reduction. It displays high overpotential for hydrogen evolution, moderate sp3 C structure and oxygen-containing surface groups. Benefiting from these features, the charcoal cathode exhibits high nitrate removal rate (91.2%), outstanding selectivity (98.5%) and fast production rate (0.570 mmol L−1 h−1 cm−2) for ammonium. Both removal rate and selectivity are superior to other carbon materials and comparable to metal-containing cathodes. These results exhibit the possibility of using charcoal as cathodes for denitrification and ammonia recovery from wastewater.
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