Recent Advances in Electrochemical Synthesis of Ammonia through Nitrogen Reduction under Ambient Conditions

Abstract

Ammonia is an important chemical raw material, widely used in industry and agriculture, as well as an important energy storage intermediate and carbon‐free energy carrier. But, its production is limited to the traditional Haber‐Bosch process. Recently, electrochemical reduction of N2 has been attracting more and more attention, owing to the lower energy consumption and because it is environmentally friendly. However, there are a lot of problems that remain to be solved, and the main challenges are the low selectivity and catalytic activity when using this process. In this Review, we first summarize the recent development of electrocatalysts for electrochemical N2 reduction and elaborate on the reaction mechanisms of the nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR). In addition, the effects of different types of electrolyte on the NRR activity and electrolyte choice are discussed. Finally, the perspectives of electrochemical nitrogen reduction for conversion to ammonia are discussed.

Current Progress of Electrocatalysts for Ammonia Synthesis Through Electrochemical Nitrogen Reduction Under Ambient Conditions

“…NH 3 is one of the most important chemicals and carbon-free energy carriers with aw orldwide annual productiono f 150 million tons and nearly 80 %o ft he produced NH 3 are used for the fertilizer industry. [1][2][3][4] With increasingd emand from abooming world population, the current supply is insufficient. [5,6] Although over 78 %o ft he atmosphere is composed of N 2 ,i te xists in its chemically and biologically unusableg aseous form.…”

“…NH 3 is one of the most important chemicals and carbon‐free energy carriers with a worldwide annual production of ∼150 million tons and nearly 80 % of the produced NH 3 are used for the fertilizer industry . With increasing demand from a booming world population, the current supply is insufficient .…”

Across the Board: Federico Bella on Electrochemical Nitrogen Reduction

“…The scientific community in the field of chemical sciences fully shares the idea that the Haber–Bosch process for the synthesis of ammonia at a large scale allowed the demographic boom of the twentieth century, owing to the possibility of fertilizing the land and feeding people. In parallel, the use of ammonia as an intermediate for the industrial chemistry, as a product for domestic use, and as a component for various processes behind the production of plastics further highlighted the strategic role of Haber–Bosch plants at a global scale …”

Electrocatalytic Nitrogen Reduction Performance of Si‐doped 2D Nanosheets of Boron Nitride Evaluated via Density Functional Theory

“…However, the industrial dinitrogen fixation relies heavily on the traditional Haber‐Bosch (HB) process, which consumes around 2 % of the global energy demand and simultaneously emits an enormous amount of greenhouse gases annually [3–4] . In recent years, the electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction method has been attracting great attention as an alternate to the HB method on the grounds that dinitrogen can be reduced into ammonia on electrocatalysts under ambient conditions using renewable electricity (wind & solar resources) and water [5–7] . However, electrocatalysts, as a pivotal component of electrolysis for reducing dinitrogen to ammonia, still suffer from low activity.…”