Proceedings of MATSUS Spring 2024 Conference (MATSUS24)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsus.2024.371
Publication date: 18th December 2023
There is a burgeoning interest in the development of a green method of ammonia synthesis; ammonia, already critical for fertilisers in the agricultural industry, is also being touted as a possible future energy vector or carbon-free fuel. The current method of production - the Haber Bosch process - is environmentally damaging and energy intensive but to date no viable alternative has been demonstrated. An electrochemical method operating under ambient conditions would be particularly attractive, as it would enable ammonia to be produced on a decentralised basis on-site and on-demand.
Thus far, amongst solid electrodes, only lithium based electrodes in organic electrolytes can unequivocally reduce nitrogen to ammonia.Even so, at present, the lithium based system is too inefficient for practical uses; moreover, it is highly unstable.
To investigate this reaction, we use a combination of electrochemical experiments, cryo-microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, electrochemistry mass spectrometry, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory. By drawing from the adjacent fields of enzymatic nitrogen reduction and battery science, I will aim to build a holistic picture of the factors controlling nitrogen reduction.
In the current contribution, I will explore (a) the underlying reasons why lithium can reduce nitrogen to ammonia and (b) how to optimise lithium mediated nitrogen reduction and (c) propose new avenues towards going beyond lithium in electrochemical nitrogen fixation.
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