Issue 15, 2021

Recent advances on electrocatalytic fixation of nitrogen under ambient conditions

Abstract

As one of the most important chemicals for human beings, ammonia is produced by the well-known Haber–Bosch process, which consumes tremendous amounts of energy and simultaneously results in unwanted emissions. Very recently, the electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (e-NRR) emerged as an intriguing technique for nitrogen fixation, which can be driven by sustainable power sources, such as solar and wind energy. Moreover, ammonia produced by e-NRR can be realized under mild conditions. Nevertheless, the electrochemical nitrogen fixation suffers from a low yield of ammonia due to the scaling relations of intermediates and competing hydrogen evolution. In addition, the progress in the e-NRR is also hindered by unreliable ammonia measurements. In this review, we summarize and discuss the recently reported e-NRR electrocatalysts, and highlight the e-NRR mechanisms and promising strategies for the rational design of e-NRR electrocatalysts. Importantly, the nitrogen contaminations, which resulted in false positive results, are also mentioned and a rigorous ammonia detection method is presented. Moreover, the current challenges and prospects for e-NRR catalysis are discussed. This review gives a fresh impetus to the rational design of high-performance e-NRR electrocatalysts.

Graphical abstract: Recent advances on electrocatalytic fixation of nitrogen under ambient conditions

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
17 fev 2021
Accepted
12 may 2021
First published
25 may 2021

Mater. Chem. Front., 2021,5, 5516-5533

Recent advances on electrocatalytic fixation of nitrogen under ambient conditions

B. Wu, Y. Lin, X. Wang and L. Chen, Mater. Chem. Front., 2021, 5, 5516 DOI: 10.1039/D1QM00269D

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