IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v16y2025i1d10.1038_s41467-025-56566-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ferromagnetic Fe-TiO2 spin catalysts for enhanced ammonia electrosynthesis

Author

Listed:
  • Jingnan Wang

    (Fuzhou University
    China University of Petroleum)

  • Kaiheng Zhao

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Yongbin Yao

    (Beijing Jiaotong University)

  • Fan Xue

    (Beijing Jiaotong University)

  • Fei Lu

    (Yangzhou University)

  • Wensheng Yan

    (University of Science and Technology of China)

  • Fangli Yuan

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS))

  • Xi Wang

    (Beijing Jiaotong University)

Abstract

Magnetic field effects (MFE) of ferromagnetic spin electrocatalysts have attracted significant attention due to their potential to enhance catalytic activity under an external magnetic field. However, no ferromagnetic spin catalysts have demonstrated MFE in the electrocatalytic reduction of nitrate for ammonia (NO3RR), a pioneering approach towards NH3 production involving the conversion from diamagnetic NO3− to paramagnetic NO. Here, we report the ferromagnetic Fe-TiO2 to investigate MFE on NO3RR. Fe-TiO2 possesses a high density of atomically dispersed Fe sites and exhibits an intermediate-spin state, resulting in magnetic ordering through ferromagnetism. Assisted by a magnetic field, Fe-TiO2 achieves a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of up to 97% and an NH3 yield of 24.69 mg mgcat−1 at −0.5 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. Compared to conditions without an external magnetic field, the FE and NH3 yield for Fe-TiO2 under an external magnetic field is increased by ~21.8% and ~ 3.1 times, respectively. In-situ characterization and theoretical calculations show that spin polarization enhances the critical step of NO hydrogenation to NOH by optimizing electron transfer pathways between Fe and NO, significantly boosting NO3RR activity.

Suggested Citation

  • Jingnan Wang & Kaiheng Zhao & Yongbin Yao & Fan Xue & Fei Lu & Wensheng Yan & Fangli Yuan & Xi Wang, 2025. "Ferromagnetic Fe-TiO2 spin catalysts for enhanced ammonia electrosynthesis," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-56566-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56566-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56566-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-025-56566-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shengnan Sun & Chencheng Dai & Peng Zhao & Shibo Xi & Yi Ren & Hui Ru Tan & Poh Chong Lim & Ming Lin & Caozheng Diao & Danwei Zhang & Chao Wu & Anke Yu & Jie Cheng Jackson Koh & Wei Ying Lieu & Debbie, 2024. "Spin-related Cu-Co pair to increase electrochemical ammonia generation on high-entropy oxides," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Ang Cao & Vanessa J. Bukas & Vahid Shadravan & Zhenbin Wang & Hao Li & Jakob Kibsgaard & Ib Chorkendorff & Jens K. Nørskov, 2022. "A spin promotion effect in catalytic ammonia synthesis," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-7, December.
    3. Zhen-Yu Wu & Mohammadreza Karamad & Xue Yong & Qizheng Huang & David A. Cullen & Peng Zhu & Chuan Xia & Qunfeng Xiao & Mohsen Shakouri & Feng-Yang Chen & Jung Yoon (Timothy) Kim & Yang Xia & Kimberly , 2021. "Electrochemical ammonia synthesis via nitrate reduction on Fe single atom catalyst," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Xiao Hai & Yang Zheng & Qi Yu & Na Guo & Shibo Xi & Xiaoxu Zhao & Sharon Mitchell & Xiaohua Luo & Victor Tulus & Mu Wang & Xiaoyu Sheng & Longbin Ren & Xiangdong Long & Jing Li & Peng He & Huihui Lin , 2023. "Geminal-atom catalysis for cross-coupling," Nature, Nature, vol. 622(7984), pages 754-760, October.
    5. Jie Dai & Yawen Tong & Long Zhao & Zhiwei Hu & Chien-Te Chen & Chang-Yang Kuo & Guangming Zhan & Jiaxian Wang & Xingyue Zou & Qian Zheng & Wei Hou & Ruizhao Wang & Kaiyuan Wang & Rui Zhao & Xiang-Kui , 2024. "Spin polarized Fe1−Ti pairs for highly efficient electroreduction nitrate to ammonia," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shengnan Sun & Chencheng Dai & Peng Zhao & Shibo Xi & Yi Ren & Hui Ru Tan & Poh Chong Lim & Ming Lin & Caozheng Diao & Danwei Zhang & Chao Wu & Anke Yu & Jie Cheng Jackson Koh & Wei Ying Lieu & Debbie, 2024. "Spin-related Cu-Co pair to increase electrochemical ammonia generation on high-entropy oxides," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Jiawei Liu & Yifan Xu & Ruihuan Duan & Mingsheng Zhang & Yue Hu & Mengxin Chen & Bo Han & Jinfeng Dong & Carmen Lee & Loku Singgappulige Rosantha Kumara & Okkyun Seo & Jochi Tseng & Takeshi Watanabe &, 2025. "Reaction-driven formation of anisotropic strains in FeTeSe nanosheets boosts low-concentration nitrate reduction to ammonia," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-14, December.
    3. Jian Zhang & Thomas Quast & Bashir Eid & Yen-Ting Chen & Ridha Zerdoumi & Stefan Dieckhöfer & João R. C. Junqueira & Sabine Seisel & Wolfgang Schuhmann, 2024. "In-situ electrochemical reconstruction and modulation of adsorbed hydrogen coverage in cobalt/ruthenium-based catalyst boost electroreduction of nitrate to ammonia," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Jiwei Shi & Gang Wang & Duanshuai Tian & Xiao Hai & Rongwei Meng & Yifan Xu & Yu Teng & Lu Ma & Shibo Xi & Youqing Yang & Xin Zhou & Xingjie Fu & Hengyu Li & Qilong Cai & Peng He & Huihui Lin & Jinxin, 2025. "Defying the oxidative-addition prerequisite in cross-coupling through artful single-atom catalysts," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-12, December.
    5. Xinyi Yang & Wanqing Song & Kang Liao & Xiaoyang Wang & Xin Wang & Jinfeng Zhang & Haozhi Wang & Yanan Chen & Ning Yan & Xiaopeng Han & Jia Ding & Wenbin Hu, 2024. "Cohesive energy discrepancy drives the fabrication of multimetallic atomically dispersed materials for hydrogen evolution reaction," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.
    6. Qiang Gao & Hemanth Somarajan Pillai & Yang Huang & Shikai Liu & Qingmin Mu & Xue Han & Zihao Yan & Hua Zhou & Qian He & Hongliang Xin & Huiyuan Zhu, 2022. "Breaking adsorption-energy scaling limitations of electrocatalytic nitrate reduction on intermetallic CuPd nanocubes by machine-learned insights," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    7. Kui Fan & Wenfu Xie & Jinze Li & Yining Sun & Pengcheng Xu & Yang Tang & Zhenhua Li & Mingfei Shao, 2022. "Active hydrogen boosts electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, December.
    8. Zheye Zhang & Hongyan Zhao & Shibo Xi & Xiaoxu Zhao & Xiao Chi & Hong Yang & Zhongxin Chen & Xiaojiang Yu & Yang-Gang Wang & Bin Liu & Peng Chen, 2025. "Breaking linear scaling relationships in oxygen evolution via dynamic structural regulation of active sites," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-12, December.
    9. Jie Dai & Yawen Tong & Long Zhao & Zhiwei Hu & Chien-Te Chen & Chang-Yang Kuo & Guangming Zhan & Jiaxian Wang & Xingyue Zou & Qian Zheng & Wei Hou & Ruizhao Wang & Kaiyuan Wang & Rui Zhao & Xiang-Kui , 2024. "Spin polarized Fe1−Ti pairs for highly efficient electroreduction nitrate to ammonia," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    10. Shuo Zhang & Jianghua Wu & Mengting Zheng & Xin Jin & Zihan Shen & Zhonghua Li & Yanjun Wang & Quan Wang & Xuebin Wang & Hui Wei & Jiangwei Zhang & Peng Wang & Shanqing Zhang & Liyan Yu & Lifeng Dong , 2023. "Fe/Cu diatomic catalysts for electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    11. Donglai Pan & Muthu Austeria P & Shinbi Lee & Ho-sub Bae & Fei He & Geun Ho Gu & Wonyong Choi, 2024. "Integrated electrocatalytic synthesis of ammonium nitrate from dilute NO gas on metal organic frameworks-modified gas diffusion electrodes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.
    12. Junjun Pei & Jianbin Liu & Kaixing Fu & Yukui Fu & Kai Yin & Shenglian Luo & Deyou Yu & Mingyang Xing & Jinming Luo, 2025. "Non-metallic iodine single-atom catalysts with optimized electronic structures for efficient Fenton-like reactions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-12, December.
    13. Xinhong Chen & Yumeng Cheng & Bo Zhang & Jia Zhou & Sisi He, 2024. "Gradient-concentration RuCo electrocatalyst for efficient and stable electroreduction of nitrate into ammonia," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    14. Xu, Haiyang & Zhang, Le & Wei, ShengJie & Tong, Xuan & Yang, Yue & Ji, Xu, 2024. "A novel solar system for photothermal-assisted electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction to ammonia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    15. Wan Jae Dong & Jan Paul Menzel & Kejian Li & Zhengwei Ye & Zhuoran Long & Ishtiaque Ahmed Navid & Ke R. Yang & Yixin Xiao & Victor S. Batista & Zetian Mi, 2025. "Nitrate reduction to ammonia catalyzed by GaN/Si photoelectrodes with metal clusters," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, December.
    16. Qiyang Cheng & Sisi Liu & Yanzheng He & Mengfan Wang & Haoqing Ji & Yunfei Huan & Tao Qian & Chenglin Yan & Jianmei Lu, 2025. "Multivariate covalent organic frameworks with tailored electrostatic potential promote nitrate electroreduction to ammonia in acid," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-13, December.
    17. Xiaoran Zhang & Xiaorong Zhu & Shuowen Bo & Chen Chen & Mengyi Qiu & Xiaoxiao Wei & Nihan He & Chao Xie & Wei Chen & Jianyun Zheng & Pinsong Chen & San Ping Jiang & Yafei Li & Qinghua Liu & Shuangyin , 2022. "Identifying and tailoring C–N coupling site for efficient urea synthesis over diatomic Fe–Ni catalyst," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    18. Eamonn Murphy & Yuanchao Liu & Ivana Matanovic & Martina Rüscher & Ying Huang & Alvin Ly & Shengyuan Guo & Wenjie Zang & Xingxu Yan & Andrea Martini & Janis Timoshenko & Beatriz Roldán Cuenya & Iryna , 2023. "Elucidating electrochemical nitrate and nitrite reduction over atomically-dispersed transition metal sites," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, December.
    19. Zhiyuan Han & An Chen & Zejian Li & Mengtian Zhang & Zhilong Wang & Lixue Yang & Runhua Gao & Yeyang Jia & Guanjun Ji & Zhoujie Lao & Xiao Xiao & Kehao Tao & Jing Gao & Wei Lv & Tianshuai Wang & Jinji, 2024. "Machine learning-based design of electrocatalytic materials towards high-energy lithium||sulfur batteries development," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    20. Minmin Yan & Zengxi Wei & Zhichao Gong & Bernt Johannessen & Gonglan Ye & Guanchao He & Jingjing Liu & Shuangliang Zhao & Chunyu Cui & Huilong Fei, 2023. "Sb2S3-templated synthesis of sulfur-doped Sb-N-C with hierarchical architecture and high metal loading for H2O2 electrosynthesis," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-56566-7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.