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DFT Analysis of Elementary N2 Electro-Reduction Kinetics on Transition Metal Surfaces
Presentation

DFT Analysis of Elementary N2 Electro-Reduction Kinetics on Transition Metal Surfaces

Sharad MaheshwariYawei LiMichael JanikGholamreza RostamikiaLauren F. GreenleeJulie Renner

Ammonia is currently produced through the catalytic Haber Bosch process (HB) at temperatures of about 300 to 500 °C and pressure of about 200-300 atm. In a future with plentiful renewable electricity from distributed sources, an electro-chemical system to produce ammonia could efficiently generate ammonia on site and on demand. Possible heterogeneous catalysts for electro-chemical nitrogen reduction are currently marred by the poor rate and selectivity due to difficulty in activating the strong N-N bond and to the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), resulting in infeasible faradaic efficiency. To develop more selective and active catalysts, better understanding of the mechanistic…

Enhanced Electrochemical Ammonia Production Via Peptide-Bound Metal
Presentation

Enhanced Electrochemical Ammonia Production Via Peptide-Bound Metal

Charles LoneyJulie RennerDavid SuttmillerLauren F. GreenleeMichael Janik

Approximately half of the people on the planet are alive because of synthetically produced ammonia. However, due to the fossil fuels used in the current ammonia synthesis process, its production contributes a significant amount to the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Haber-Bosch synthesis, which is the most widely used method of producing synthetic ammonia today, requires high temperatures (400-500 °C) and pressures (150-200 atm). This process is also energy intensive, consuming approximately 2% of worldwide energy. By taking an electrochemically-based approach to ammonia synthesis, those harsh conditions and emissions can be eliminated. However, current catalysts are not selective for the desired…

Electrochemical Nitrogen Reduction Reaction on Transition Metal Nitride Nanoparticles in Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzers
Presentation

Electrochemical Nitrogen Reduction Reaction on Transition Metal Nitride Nanoparticles in Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzers

Xuan YangJared NashJacob AnibalMarco DunwellYushan YanBingjun Xu

Transition metal nitride nanoparticles are synthesized and utilized as catalysts for electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (ENRR) to produce ammonia in a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer (PEMEL). The catalysts show an average ENRR rate and Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 3.3 × 10−10 mol s−1 cm−2 (6.6 × 10−10 mol s−1 mg−1) and 5.95% at −0.1 V within 1 h, respectively. Both the ENRR rate and FE are approximately two orders of magnitude higher than those of noble metal catalysts. Time-dependent results suggest that the catalytic activity of transition metal nitride nanoparticles is stable at −0.1 V, with the catalytic activity decreasing…

Electrochemical Synthesis of Ammonia Using Metal Nitride Catalsyts
Presentation

Electrochemical Synthesis of Ammonia Using Metal Nitride Catalsyts

Jared NashXuan YangJacob AnibalYushan YanBingjun Xu

With the development of the Haber process and the subsequent work done by Bosch, ammonia production become an industrially and economically viable way to fix nitrogen. This helped increase the global population and estimates put it at about 40% of the global population’s food comes from ammonia made by the Haber-Bosch process[1]. However, the Haber-Bosch process is an energy intensive process requiring high pressure (15-30 MPa) and relatively high temperature (430 °C – 480 °C) and is highly centralized with only about 13 companies and about 29 plants[2,3]. Renewable energy resources offer a possible alternative way to fix nitrogen at…

Highly-Selective Electrochemical Reduction of Dinitrogen to Ammonia at Ambient Temperature and Pressure
Presentation

Highly-Selective Electrochemical Reduction of Dinitrogen to Ammonia at Ambient Temperature and Pressure

Qiang ZhangXiaoyang CuiCheng Tang

Catalytic conversion of dinitrogen (N2) into ammonia under ambient conditions represents one of the Holy Grails in catalysis and surface science. As a potential alternative to the Haber-Bosch process, electrochemical reduction of N2 to NH3 is attractive owing to its renewability and flexibility, as well as sustainability for producing and storing value-added chemicals from the abundant feedstock of water and nitrogen on earth. However, owing to the kinetically complex and energetically challenging N2 reduction reaction (NRR) process, NRR electrocatalysts with high catalytic activity and high selectivity are rare. In this contribution, as a proof-of-concept, we demonstrate that both the NH3…

Identifying the Prospects of Electrochemical Ammonia Synthesis on Mxenes Using First Principles Calculations
Presentation

Identifying the Prospects of Electrochemical Ammonia Synthesis on Mxenes Using First Principles Calculations

Gurjyot SethiVenkatasubramanian Viswanathan

Electrochemical synthesis of ammonia is a major challenge aimed at making production of ammonia sustainable. Currently ruthenium is the transition metal of choice for catalyzing the industrial Haber-Bosch process. However, electrochemical ammonia synthesis on ruthenium suffers from high overpotential and the competing hydrogen evolution reaction. Recently layered transition metals carbides and nitrides (MXenes) have been identified as a potential material class for ammonia synthesis. MXenes are particularly interesting owing to the high degree of tunability in surface chemistry due to the transition metal choice, interlayer distance, number of layers in the material, and surface termination. These choices affect the electron…

Ammonia Energy Coming on Like Gangbusters in Australia
Article

Ammonia Energy Coming on Like Gangbusters in Australia

Stephen H. Crolius September 13, 2018

NH3FA.Oz, the Australian chapter of the NH3 Fuel Association, held a meeting on August 30 in approximate observance of its one-year anniversary.  John Mott, one of the founders of NH3FA.Oz and a member of the NH3 Fuel Association’s Advisory Board, reported that more than two dozen stakeholders from academia, industry, and the public sector participated.  The meeting came on the heels of the rapid-fire release of three significant reports, and preceded by a week the announcement of an important set of research grants.  The meeting, the reports, and the announcement all made clear that ammonia  is fast becoming a fixture in Australian energy policy.

Science Publishes Feature Article on Ammonia Energy
Article

Science Publishes Feature Article on Ammonia Energy

Stephen H. Crolius July 19, 2018

On July 13, Science magazine, the flagship publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), published a 2,800-word “feature article" on ammonia energy. The article, headlined, “Liquid sunshine: Ammonia made from sun, air, and water could turn Australia into a renewable energy superpower,” is uniformly open-minded and upbeat.  Its opening section ends with a quote from Monash University Professor of Physics and Chemistry Doug MacFarlane; “’Liquid ammonia is liquid energy,’ he says. ‘It's the sustainable technology we need.’” MacFarlane helped launch the Australian chapter of the NH3 Fuel Association.

Future Ammonia Technologies: Electrochemical (part 3)
Article

Future Ammonia Technologies: Electrochemical (part 3)

Trevor Brown December 28, 2017

This series of articles on the future of ammonia synthesis began with a report on the NH3 Energy+ conference presentation by Grigorii Soloveichik, Program Director at the US Department of Energy's ARPA-E, who categorized the technologies as being either improvements on Haber-Bosch or electrochemical (with exceptions). ARPA-E invests in "transformational, high-risk, early-stage research," and recently began funding ammonia synthesis technologies, not to make renewable fertilizer but to produce "energy-dense zero-carbon liquid fuel." This article will introduce the six electrochemical technologies currently in development with funding from ARPA-E.