Sun Ming-Lei, Wang Hao-Yu, Feng Yi, Ren Jin-Tao, Wang Lei, Yuan Zhong-Yong
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Smart Sensing Interdisciplinary Science Center, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.
Chem Soc Rev. 2024 Dec 9;53(24):11908-11966. doi: 10.1039/d4cs00517a.
The excessive accumulation of nitrogen pollutants (mainly nitrate, nitrite, ammonia nitrogen, hydrazine, and urea) in water bodies seriously disrupts the natural nitrogen cycle and poses a significant threat to human life and health. Electrolysis is considered a promising method to degrade these nitrogenous pollutants in sewage, with the advantages of high efficiency, wide generality, easy operability, retrievability, and environmental friendliness. For particular energy devices, including metal-nitrate batteries, direct fuel cells, and hybrid water electrolyzers, the realization of energy valorization from sewage purification processes (, valuable chemical generation, electricity output, and hydrogen production) becomes feasible. Despite the progress in the research on pollutant electrodegradation, the development of electrocatalysts with high activity, stability, and selectivity for pollutant removal, coupled with corresponding energy devices, remains a challenge. This review comprehensively provides advanced insights into the electrodegradation processes of nitrogenous pollutants and relevant energy valorization strategies, focusing on the reaction mechanisms, activity descriptors, electrocatalyst design, and actuated electrodes and operation parameters of tailored energy conversion devices. A feasibility analysis of electrodegradation on real wastewater samples from the perspective of pollutant concentration, pollutant accumulation, and electrolyte effects is provided. Challenges and prospects for the future development of electrodegradation systems are also discussed in detail to bridge the gap between experimental trials and commercial applications.
水体中氮污染物（主要是硝酸盐、亚硝酸盐、氨氮、肼和尿素）的过量积累严重扰乱了自然氮循环，对人类生命和健康构成重大威胁。电解被认为是降解污水中这些含氮污染物的一种有前景的方法，具有效率高、通用性广、操作简便、可回收和环境友好等优点。对于特定的能量装置，包括金属硝酸盐电池、直接燃料电池和混合水电解槽，从污水净化过程中实现能量增值（即产生有价值的化学品、输出电力和制氢）变得可行。尽管在污染物电极降解研究方面取得了进展，但开发具有高活性、稳定性和选择性的用于污染物去除的电催化剂以及相应的能量装置仍然是一项挑战。本综述全面深入地介绍了含氮污染物的电极降解过程以及相关的能量增值策略，重点关注反应机理、活性描述符、电催化剂设计以及定制能量转换装置的驱动电极和操作参数。从污染物浓度、污染物积累和电解质效应的角度对实际废水样品的电极降解进行了可行性分析。还详细讨论了电极降解系统未来发展面临的挑战和前景，以弥合实验试验与商业应用之间的差距。
