Self-supported porous copper oxide nanosheet arrays for efficient and selective electrochemical conversion of nitrate ions to nitrogen gas

摘要

Electrochemical techniques have shown advantages for the removal of low-concentration nitrate.Here,copper oxide nanosheets were grown on self-supporting nickel foam(NF)to prepare electrodes(CuO/NF),which realized the rapid and highly selective conversion of nitrate pollutants in sewage into nontoxic and harmless N_(2).The CuO/NF afforded 100%NO_(3)^(-)removal within 100 min and 99.53%selectivity for N_(2)at-50 mA without producing a lot of by-products(NO_(2)-,NH_(4)^(+),and N_(2)H_(4)).Furthermore,81.8%of NO_(3)^(-)was removed under the given conditions after six experimental repetitions.These results suggest that the cat-alyst has excellent electrochemical stability.The performance of CuO/NF for the electrocatalytic removal of NO_(3)^(-)in simulated wastewater(which contained Cl^(-) and SO_(4)^(2-))was almost unaffected.Because of the high efficiency,high stability,and low cost of CuO/NF,this catalyst is practical for the removal of nitrate for wastewater purification.