Issue 15, 2024

Recent progress in the advanced strategies, rational design, and engineering of electrocatalysts for nitrate reduction toward ammonia

Abstract

Ammonia is a valuable feedstock for most chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and fertilizer products. It is a promising carbon-free energy source. Under severe experimental circumstances (high temperature and high pressure), ammonia is manufactured industrially using the standard Haber–Bosch process. This process uses a lot of energy and emits a huge amount of CO2 into the environment. One method that is seen to be promising and could eventually replace the Haber–Bosch process is the electrocatalytic production of ammonia. However, in ambient conditions, the cleavage of the nitrogen molecule is exceedingly difficult. As a result, the yield of ammonia remains modest and the study's scope is still restricted to the lab. When the catalytic performance is significantly increased, nitrate and nitrite contaminations in water systems can be effectively removed and simultaneously transformed into energy sources if nitrites or nitrates are employed as nitrogen sources instead of nitrogen gas. This may become a new substitute for the synthesis of ammonia, but nitrate and nitrite reduction are not getting enough attention. In this review, we discuss the performance of the electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction, which includes cycling stability, reactivity, selectivity, and faradaic efficiency. Following this summary, we look into the crucial elements, the rate-determining step, and the reaction mechanisms that govern the performance of the nitrate reduction reaction. In order to support the practical use of the electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction, we finally provided a summary of the challenges and future directions guiding the design of efficient catalyst and reaction systems.

Graphical abstract: Recent progress in the advanced strategies, rational design, and engineering of electrocatalysts for nitrate reduction toward ammonia

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
15 Febr. 2024
Accepted
16 Marts 2024
First published
18 Marts 2024

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2024,26, 11208-11216

Recent progress in the advanced strategies, rational design, and engineering of electrocatalysts for nitrate reduction toward ammonia

F. Shafiq, L. Yang and W. Zhu, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2024, 26, 11208 DOI: 10.1039/D4CP00659C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements