TY  - CONF
AU  - Azua Humara, Ana Daniela
AU  - Luna Barron, Ana Laura
TI  - Electrocatalytic Ammonia Synthesis At Low Temperatures And Low Pressures In Aqueous Media
PB  - RWTH Aachen
M1  - FZJ-2025-00023
PY  - 2024
AB  - Ammonia is one of the most produced chemical substances globally and a key component in fertilizers. Its demand is expected to rise significantly in the coming decades due to population growth. However, the thermochemical Haber-Bosch process, which is currently used to produce ammonia, is highly energy-intensive and generates significant CO2 emissions. The international target is to reduce the ammonia industry’s emissions to just 367 MtCO2 per year by 2050. [1] Achieving this target requires decarbonizing ammonia industry by implementing sustainable technologies. While coupling the Harber-Bosch process with green hydrogen can help reduce carbon emissions, projections indicate that additional alternative technologies of ammonia production will be necessary to meet the 2050 carbon target. [1] In this context, electrochemical nitrogen reduction under ambient conditions represents a promising approach to complement the future technologies portfolio for green ammonia production.Given the challenging and complex nature of electrochemical nitrogen reduction, this PhD project adopts a systematic research approach. The approach involves separating the two key reaction steps—nitrogen activation and nitrogen protonation—to study each in detail. This will provide a deeper understanding that will guide the design of an effective catalyst for ammonia production. The first step, nitrogen activation, involves nitrogen adsorption and the breaking of the highly stable nitrogen triple bond. Because 941 kJ/mol of energy is required to dissociate N₂ bonds, nitrogen activation is more difficult than the nitrogen protonation step. Nitrogen protonation, the second step, refers to the addition of protons (H⁺) to nitrogen atoms to form ammonia (NH₃). Protonation is closely related to the selectivity of the reaction, as by-products like hydrazine can also form. Additionally, protons may react to form hydrogen gas instead of ammonia, which can further affect the reaction’s efficiency.This progress report presents the results of the nitrogen protonation investigation. The electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction was selected as a model reaction because it has lower energy requirements and shares key similarities with nitrogen reduction reaction under ambient conditions. These similarities include the competition with HER, the formation of nitrogen-containing byproducts, and the multistep proton-coupled electron transfers
T2  - IET-1 PhD Autumn Seminar
CY  - 28 Oct 2024 - 30 Oct 2024, Düren (Germany)
Y2  - 28 Oct 2024 - 30 Oct 2024
M2  - Düren, Germany
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)31
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/1034900
ER  -