Bifunctional Cu ₂ O@CoMoO ₄ for Synergistic Photothermal‐Electrocatalytic Ammonia Production From Nitrate Coupled With Glucose Oxidation

The Photoelectrocatalytic nitrate reduction (PEC NO 3 RR) for ammonia (NH 3 ) synthesis offers a promising pathway to address global nitrogen cycle synthesis; however, current systems remain insufficient for industrial applications, addressing the issue of sluggish nitric acid reduction kinetics and competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this study, the photothermal Cu 2 O@CoMoO 4 composite was synthesized via a hydrothermal method and applied to PEC NO 3 RR. Under an applied potential of −1.6 V (vs. RHE), the catalyst exhibited an excellent NH 3 yield rate of 5.4 mmol h −1 cm −2 and a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 96%. Furthermore, Cu 2 O@CoMoO 4 also demonstrated high catalytic activity for the glucose oxidation reaction (GOR). In a 0.5 M Na 2 SO 4 solution containing 100 mmol L −1 glucose, the conversion rate reached 72.5%. Based on these results, we constructed a PEC cell integrating NO 3 RR and GOR, enabling efficient synergistic ammonia synthesis and glucose oxidation at low applied voltages. This work highlights the potential application of such systems in environmental remediation and energy conversion.