Overcoming chemical inertness under ambient conditions
- Ammonia (NH3) synthesis by the electrochemical N-2 reduction reaction (NRR) is increasingly studied and proposed as an alternative process to overcome the disadvantages of Haber-Bosch synthesis by a more energy-efficient, carbon-free, delocalized, and sustainable process. An ever-increasing number of scientists are working on the improvement of the faradaic efficiency (FE) and NH3 production rate by developing novel catalysts, electrolyte concepts, and/or by contributing theoretical studies. The present Minireview provides a critical view on the interplay of different crucial aspects in NRR from the electrolyte, over the mechanism of catalytic activation of N-2, to the full electrochemical cell. Five critical questions are asked, discussed, and answered, each coupled with a summary of recent developments in the respective field. This article is not supposed to be a complete summary of recent research about NRR but provides a rather critical personal view on the field. It is the major aim to give an overview over crucial influences onAmmonia (NH3) synthesis by the electrochemical N-2 reduction reaction (NRR) is increasingly studied and proposed as an alternative process to overcome the disadvantages of Haber-Bosch synthesis by a more energy-efficient, carbon-free, delocalized, and sustainable process. An ever-increasing number of scientists are working on the improvement of the faradaic efficiency (FE) and NH3 production rate by developing novel catalysts, electrolyte concepts, and/or by contributing theoretical studies. The present Minireview provides a critical view on the interplay of different crucial aspects in NRR from the electrolyte, over the mechanism of catalytic activation of N-2, to the full electrochemical cell. Five critical questions are asked, discussed, and answered, each coupled with a summary of recent developments in the respective field. This article is not supposed to be a complete summary of recent research about NRR but provides a rather critical personal view on the field. It is the major aim to give an overview over crucial influences on different length scales to shine light on the sweet spots into which room for revolutionary instead of incremental improvements may exist.…
Author details: | Qing QinORCiDGND, Martin OschatzORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1002/celc.201901970 |
ISSN: | 2196-0216 |
Title of parent work (English): | ChemElectroChem |
Subtitle (German): | a critical view on recent developments in Ammonia synthesis via electrochemical N-2 reduction by asking five questions |
Publisher: | Wiley-VCH |
Place of publishing: | Weinheim |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2022/02/11 |
Publication year: | 2020 |
Release date: | 2023/03/22 |
Tag: | N-2 reduction; ammonia synthesis; catalysis; catalysts; electrolytes |
Volume: | 7 |
Issue: | 4 |
Number of pages: | 12 |
First page: | 878 |
Last Page: | 889 |
Funding institution: | Max Planck SocietyMax Planck SocietyFoundation CELLEX; Deutsche; Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany's; Excellence StrategyGerman Research Foundation (DFG) [EXC 2008/1 -; 390540038]; German Chemical Industry FundFonds der Chemischen Industrie |
Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Chemie |
DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 54 Chemie / 540 Chemie und zugeordnete Wissenschaften |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Publishing method: | Open Access / Hybrid Open-Access |
License (German): | CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |