Electrocatalytic Synthesis of Ammonia at Room Temperature and Atmospheric Pressure from Water and Nitrogen on a Carbon-Nanotube-Based Electrocatalyst.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl
; 56(10): 2699-2703, 2017 03 01.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28128489
ABSTRACT
Ammonia is synthesized directly from water and N2 at room temperature and atmospheric pressure in a flow electrochemical cell operating in gas phase (half-cell for the NH3 synthesis). Iron supported on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was used as the electrocatalyst in this half-cell. A rate of ammonia formation of 2.2×10-3 â
gNH3 m-2 h-1 was obtained at room temperature and atmospheric pressure in a flow of N2 , with stable behavior for at least 60â
h of reaction, under an applied potential of -2.0â
V. This value is higher than the rate of ammonia formation obtained using noble metals (Ru/C) under comparable reaction conditions. Furthermore, hydrogen gas with a total Faraday efficiency as high as 95.1 % was obtained. Data also indicate that the active sites in NH3 electrocatalytic synthesis may be associated to specific carbon sites formed at the interface between iron particles and CNT and able to activate N2 , making it more reactive towards hydrogenation.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl
Year:
2017
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Italia