ABSTRACT The conversion of low‐concentration nitrate into value‐added ammonia (NH 3 ) is hindered by sluggish kinetics and inefficient electron utilization in conventional photo‐ and electrocatalytic systems. Herein, this work proposes a unique electric field reconstruction strategy to achieve efficient piezoelectric reduction of nitrate to ammonia. Through electric field reconstruction at the SnS 2 /TiC interface, the strong adsorption and highly active catalytic sites are generated to activate * H and * NO 3 − , thereby enhancing deoxygenation and hydrogenation processes. In addition, piezoelectric‐driven field reconstruction not only accelerates charge carrier migration, but also modulates the electronic energy bands, further facilitating the NO 3 − reduction reaction (NO 3 − RR) catalysis. Therefore, the optimized SnS 2 /TiC heterostructures display a high NH 3 synthesis rate of 10.26 mmol g −1 h −1 and a high electron utilization of 98% at low concentrations, surpassing most previously reported photocatalytic NH 3 production rates and electrocatalytic electron utilization. Moreover, the residual nitrate concentration was reduced below the World Health Organization drinking water standard. Electric field reconstruction at the heterostructural interface provides a tunable and efficient route for green ammonia production via piezoelectric catalysis.
Yang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.