image: ARTIFICIAL ELECTROCATALYTIC AMMONIA SYNTHESIS (WHICH CAN COUPLE WITH CLEAN RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY) IS RECENTLY BECOMING A RESEARCH HOTSPOT. RESEARCHERS REVIEW RECENT ADVANCES IN ELECTROCATALYTIC AMMONIA SYNTHESIS INVOLVING ELECTROCATALYTIC NITROGEN REDUCTION REACTION, NITRIC OXIDE REDUCTION REACTION, AND NITRATE/NITRITE REDUCTION REACTION. THE CHALLENGES AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES ARE ALSO PROPOSED IN THE CONCLUDING REMARKS. view more
Credit: Chinese Journal of Catalysis
NH3 is the second largest chemical produced in the world and nearly 80% of produced NH3 is employed in fertilizer synthesis. Meanwhile, NH3 is an indispensable raw material for manufacturing nitric acid, which can be further employed in chemical production. Moreover, NH3 possesses high hydrogen capacity, making it a potential carbon-free fuel. As one of the greatest inventions, the Haber-Bosch process enables the large-scale production of value-added NH3, however, it is against the principle of sustainable development theory due to the high operational costs and negative environmental impacts of the Haber-Bosch process. Hence, it is imperative to explore green and sustainable approaches to produce NH3 and simultaneously realize global environmental sustainability.
Artificial electrocatalytic NH3 synthesis (which can couple with clean renewable electricity) is recently becoming a research hotspot, where the majority of researchers use N2 gas as the N source. Although electrocatalytic N2 reduction reaction (NRR) provides an eco-friendly and sustainable route for ambient NH3 production, the conversion efficiency of N2 reduction to NH3 is unsatisfactory because of the high thermodynamic stability of the N2 molecule. Fortunately, the more active N sources (i.e., NO, NO2−, NO3−) but harmful to the environment have been deemed as attractive precursors to achieve effective NH3 production, and meanwhile, the development of electrocatalytic NO reduction reaction (NORR) and NO3−/NO2− (NOx−) reduction reaction (NtrRR) is also expected to control and mitigate the related environmental pollution.
Although many promising studies have been done in the field of artificial electrosynthesis of NH3, the design and development of active electrocatalysts with high selectivity and stability to achieve efficient NH3 production remain certain challenges.
Recently, a research team led by Prof. Xuping Sun from University of Electronic Science and Technology of China introduce three electrochemical NH3 synthesis routes (NRR, NORR, and NtrRR) and then summarize recent advances in electrocatalyst development for ambient NH3 synthesis, mainly involving catalytic mechanisms, theoretical advances, and electrochemical performance. The challenges and future perspectives are also proposed in the concluding remarks, aiming to provide experience and inspire more critical insights for the electrocatalytic NH3 synthesis reactions. The results were published in Chinese Journal of Catalysis (https://doi.org/10.1016/S1872-2067(23)64464-X).
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About the Journal
Chinese Journal of Catalysis is co-sponsored by Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Chemical Society, and it is currently published by Elsevier group. This monthly journal publishes in English timely contributions of original and rigorously reviewed manuscripts covering all areas of catalysis. The journal publishes Reviews, Accounts, Communications, Articles, Highlights, Perspectives, and Viewpoints of highly scientific values that help understanding and defining of new concepts in both fundamental issues and practical applications of catalysis. Chinese Journal of Catalysis ranks at the top one journal in Applied Chemistry with a current SCI impact factor of 16.5. The Editors-in-Chief are Profs. Can Li and Tao Zhang.
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