Lewis acid-dominated aqueous electrolyte acting as co-catalyst and overcoming N₂ activation issues on catalyst surface.

ABSTRACT: The growing demands for ammonia in agriculture and transportation fuel stimulate researchers to develop sustainable electrochemical methods to synthesize ammonia ambiently, to get past the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process. However, the conventionally used aqueous electrolytes limit N₂ solubility, leading to insufficient reactant molecules in the vicinity of the catalyst during electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR). This hampers the yield and production rate of ammonia, irrespective of how efficient the catalyst is. Herein, we introduce an aqueous electrolyte (NaBF₄), which not only acts as an N₂-carrier in the medium but also works as a full-fledged "co-catalyst" along with our active material MnN₄ to deliver a high yield of NH

SUBMITTER: Biswas A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9388088 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature