Synthesis of ammonia directly from wet air using Sm0.6Ba0.4Fe0.8Cu0.2O3−δ as the catalyst

Abstract

Ammonia was directly synthesised from wet air at 400 °C at atmospheric pressure. A new perovskite Sm_0.6Ba_0.4Fe_0.8Cu_0.2O_3−δ was used as the electrocatalyst for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia. Ammonia formation rates of 9.19 × 10⁻⁷ mol s⁻¹ m⁻² and 1.53 × 10⁻⁶ mol s⁻¹ m⁻² were obtained at 400 °C when wet air and wet N₂ were introduced into a simple single chamber reactor, respectively. The perovskite catalyst is low cost compared to the previously reported Ru/MgO and Pt/C catalysts. This experiment indicates that ammonia can be directly synthesised from wet air, a very promising simple technology for sustainable synthesis of ammonia in the future.