Tremendous efforts have been devoted to explore energy-efficient strategies of ammonia synthesis to replace Haber-Bosch process which accounts for 1.4% of the annual energy consumption. In this study, atomically dispe...Tremendous efforts have been devoted to explore energy-efficient strategies of ammonia synthesis to replace Haber-Bosch process which accounts for 1.4% of the annual energy consumption. In this study, atomically dispersed Au_1 catalyst is synthesized and applied in electrochemical synthesis of ammonia under ambient conditions. A high NH＋4 Faradaic efficiency of 11.1 % achieved by our Au_1 catalyst surpasses most of reported catalysts under comparable conditions. Benefiting from efficient atom utilization, an NH＋4 yield rate of 1,305 μg h-1 mg-1Au has been reached, which is roughly 22.5 times as high as that by sup- ported Au nanoparticles. We also demonstrate that by employing our Au_1 catalyst, NH＋4 can be electro- chemically produced directly from N_2 and H_2 with an energy utilization rate of 4.02 mmol kJ-1. Our study provides a possibility of replacing the Haber-Bosch process with environmentally benign and energy-efficient electrochemical strategies.展开更多
Sustainable ammonia synthesis at ambient conditions that relies on renewable sources of energy and feedstocks is globally sought to replace the Haber-Bosch process.Here,using nitrogen and water as raw materials,a nont...Sustainable ammonia synthesis at ambient conditions that relies on renewable sources of energy and feedstocks is globally sought to replace the Haber-Bosch process.Here,using nitrogen and water as raw materials,a nonthermal plasma catalysis approach is demonstrated as an effective powerto-chemicals conversion strategy for ammonia production.By sustaining a highly reactive environment,successful plasma-catalytic production of NH_(3) was achieved from the dissociation of N_(2) and H_(2)O under mild conditions.Plasma-induced vibrational excitation is found to decrease the N_(2) and H_(2)O dissociation barriers,with the presence of matched catalysts in the nonthermal plasma discharge reactor contributing significantly to molecular dissociation on the catalyst surface.Density functional theory calculations for the activation energy barrier for the dissociation suggest that ruthenium catalysts supported on magnesium oxide exhibit superior performance over other catalysts in NH_(3) production by lowering the activation energy for the dissociative adsorption of N_(2) down to 1.07 eV.The highest production rate,2.67 mmol gcat.^(-1) h^(-1),was obtained using ruthenium catalyst supported on magnesium oxide.This work highlights the potential of nonthermal plasma catalysis for the activation of renewable sources to serve as a new platform for sustainable ammonia production.展开更多
Electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction(NO_(3)−RR)is an ideal route to produce ammonia(NH_(3))under ambient conditions.Although a markedly improved NH3 production rate has been achieved on the NO_(3)−RR compared wi...Electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction(NO_(3)−RR)is an ideal route to produce ammonia(NH_(3))under ambient conditions.Although a markedly improved NH3 production rate has been achieved on the NO_(3)−RR compared with the nitrogen reduction reaction(NRR),the NH_(3) production rate of NO_(3)−RR is still well below the industrial Haber-Bosch route due to the lack of robust electrocatalysts for yielding high current densitieswith concurrently good suppression of hydrogen evolution reaction(HER).Herein,we describe an in situ electrochemical strategy for the synthesis of hollow carbon-coated Cu nanoparticles(NPs)(HSCu@C)with abundant grain boundaries(HSCu-AGB@C)for highly efficient NO_(3)−RR in both alkaline and neutral media.Impressively,in alkaline media,the HSCu-AGB@C can achieve a maximum NH3 Faradaic efficiency of 94.2% with an ultrahigh NH_(3) rate of 487.8 mmol g^(−1) cat h^(−1) at−0.2 V versus a reversible hydrogen electrode,more than 2.4-fold of the rate obtained in the Haber-Bosch.Both theoretic computations and experimental results uncover that the grain boundaries play the key to improve the NO_(3)−RR performance.Herein,the industrial-scale NH_(3) production ratemay open exciting opportunities for the practical electrosynthesis NH_(3) under ambient conditions.展开更多
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFA0208300)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21522107, 21671180, 21521091, 21390393, U1463202, and 21522305)
文摘Tremendous efforts have been devoted to explore energy-efficient strategies of ammonia synthesis to replace Haber-Bosch process which accounts for 1.4% of the annual energy consumption. In this study, atomically dispersed Au_1 catalyst is synthesized and applied in electrochemical synthesis of ammonia under ambient conditions. A high NH＋4 Faradaic efficiency of 11.1 % achieved by our Au_1 catalyst surpasses most of reported catalysts under comparable conditions. Benefiting from efficient atom utilization, an NH＋4 yield rate of 1,305 μg h-1 mg-1Au has been reached, which is roughly 22.5 times as high as that by sup- ported Au nanoparticles. We also demonstrate that by employing our Au_1 catalyst, NH＋4 can be electro- chemically produced directly from N_2 and H_2 with an energy utilization rate of 4.02 mmol kJ-1. Our study provides a possibility of replacing the Haber-Bosch process with environmentally benign and energy-efficient electrochemical strategies.
基金partially supported by the Australian Research Council(ARC)the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars(grant number 51925703)。
文摘Sustainable ammonia synthesis at ambient conditions that relies on renewable sources of energy and feedstocks is globally sought to replace the Haber-Bosch process.Here,using nitrogen and water as raw materials,a nonthermal plasma catalysis approach is demonstrated as an effective powerto-chemicals conversion strategy for ammonia production.By sustaining a highly reactive environment,successful plasma-catalytic production of NH_(3) was achieved from the dissociation of N_(2) and H_(2)O under mild conditions.Plasma-induced vibrational excitation is found to decrease the N_(2) and H_(2)O dissociation barriers,with the presence of matched catalysts in the nonthermal plasma discharge reactor contributing significantly to molecular dissociation on the catalyst surface.Density functional theory calculations for the activation energy barrier for the dissociation suggest that ruthenium catalysts supported on magnesium oxide exhibit superior performance over other catalysts in NH_(3) production by lowering the activation energy for the dissociative adsorption of N_(2) down to 1.07 eV.The highest production rate,2.67 mmol gcat.^(-1) h^(-1),was obtained using ruthenium catalyst supported on magnesium oxide.This work highlights the potential of nonthermal plasma catalysis for the activation of renewable sources to serve as a new platform for sustainable ammonia production.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation(NNSF)of China(nos.21975162 and 51902208)Shenzhen Government’s Plan of Science and Technology(nos.JCYJ20200109105803806 and JCYJ20190808142219049).
文摘Electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction(NO_(3)−RR)is an ideal route to produce ammonia(NH_(3))under ambient conditions.Although a markedly improved NH3 production rate has been achieved on the NO_(3)−RR compared with the nitrogen reduction reaction(NRR),the NH_(3) production rate of NO_(3)−RR is still well below the industrial Haber-Bosch route due to the lack of robust electrocatalysts for yielding high current densitieswith concurrently good suppression of hydrogen evolution reaction(HER).Herein,we describe an in situ electrochemical strategy for the synthesis of hollow carbon-coated Cu nanoparticles(NPs)(HSCu@C)with abundant grain boundaries(HSCu-AGB@C)for highly efficient NO_(3)−RR in both alkaline and neutral media.Impressively,in alkaline media,the HSCu-AGB@C can achieve a maximum NH3 Faradaic efficiency of 94.2% with an ultrahigh NH_(3) rate of 487.8 mmol g^(−1) cat h^(−1) at−0.2 V versus a reversible hydrogen electrode,more than 2.4-fold of the rate obtained in the Haber-Bosch.Both theoretic computations and experimental results uncover that the grain boundaries play the key to improve the NO_(3)−RR performance.Herein,the industrial-scale NH_(3) production ratemay open exciting opportunities for the practical electrosynthesis NH_(3) under ambient conditions.
