The N≡N bond (225 kcal mol−1) in dinitrogen is one of the strongest bonds in chemistry therefore artificial synthesis of ammonia under mild conditions is a significant challenge. Based on current knowledge, only bacteria and some plants can synthesise ammonia from air and water at ambient temperature and pressure. Here, for the first time, we report artificial ammonia synthesis bypassing N2 separation and H2 production stages. A maximum ammonia production rate of 1.14 × 10−5 mol m−2 s−1 has been achieved when a voltage of 1.6 V was applied. Potentially this can provide an alternative route for the mass production of the basic chemical ammonia under mild conditions. Considering climate change and the depletion of fossil fuels used for synthesis of ammonia by conventional methods, this is a renewable and sustainable chemical synthesis process for future.
The fi eld of research into solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anode materials has been rapidly moving forward. In the four years since the last in-depth review signifi cant advancements have been made in the reduction of the operating temperature and improvement of the performance of SOFCs. This progress report examines the developments in the fi eld and looks to draw conclusions and inspiration from this research. A brief introduction is given to the fi eld, followed by an overview of the principal previous materials. A detailed analysis of the developments of the last 4 years is given using a selection of the available literature, concentrating on metal-fl uorite cermets and perovskitebased materials. This is followed by a consideration of alternate fuels for use in SOFCs and their associated problems and a short discussion on the effect of synthesis method on anode performance. The concluding remarks compile the signifi cant developments in the fi eld along with a consideration of the promise of future research. The recent progress in the development of anode materials for SOFCs based on oxygen ion conducting electrolytes is reviewed.
Due to its essential use as a fertilizer, ammonia synthesis from nitrogen and hydrogen is considered to be one of the most important chemical processes of the last 100 years. Since then, an enormous amount of work has been undertaken to investigate and develop effective catalysts for this process. Although the catalytic synthesis of ammonia has been extensively studied in the last century, many new catalysts are still currently being developed to reduce the operating temperature and pressure of the process and to improve the conversion of reactants to ammonia. New catalysts for the Haber–Bosch process are the key to achieving green ammonia production in the foreseeable future. Herein, the history of ammonia synthesis catalyst development is briefly described as well as recent progress in catalyst development with the aim of building an overview of the current state of ammonia synthesis catalysts for the Haber–Bosch process. The new emerging ammonia synthesis catalysts, including electride, hydride, amide, perovskite oxide hydride/oxynitride hydride, nitride, and oxide promoted metals such as Fe, Co, and Ni, are promising alternatives to the conventional fused‐Fe and promoted‐Ru catalysts for existing ammonia synthesis plants and future distributed green ammonia synthesis based on the Haber–Bosch process.
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