The Challenge of Electrochemical Ammonia Synthesis: A New Perspective on the Role of Nitrogen Scaling Relations
Abstract
The electrochemical production of NH 3 under ambient conditions represents an attractive prospect for sustainable agriculture, but electrocatalysts that selectively reduce N 2 to NH 3 remain elusive. In this work, we present insights from DFT calculations that describe limitations on the low‐temperature electrocatalytic production of NH 3 from N 2 . In particular, we highlight the linear scaling relations of the adsorption energies of intermediates that can be used to model the overpotential requirements in this process. By using a two‐variable description of the theoretical overpotential, we identify fundamental limitations on N 2 reduction analogous to those present in processes such as oxygen evolution. Using these trends, we propose new strategies for catalyst design that may help guide the search for an electrocatalyst that can achieve selective N 2 reduction.
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To develop cleaner ammonia, chemists may be able to invent electrochemical strategies for lower-temperature ammonia production.
“To develop cleaner ammonia, chemists may be able to invent electrochemical strategies for lower-temperature ammonia production [551,849].”
From Tackling climate change with machine learning (2023) · cites this paper as [551]
Synthesizing nitrogen-based fertilizers consumes about 2% of global energy consumption.
“Synthesizing these fertilizers consumes massive amounts of energy, about 2% of global energy consumption [551] (see Section 5.2).”
From Tackling climate change with machine learning (2023) · cites this paper as [551]
Ammonia production for fertilizer use relies upon natural gas to heat up and catalyze the reaction, and accounts for around 2% of global energy consumption.
“Ammonia production for fertilizer use relies upon natural gas to heat up and catalyze the reaction, and accounts for around 2% of global energy consumption [551].”
From Tackling climate change with machine learning (2023) · cites this paper as [551]
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- Authors
- Montoya, J. H., Tsai, C., Vojvodic, A., & Nørskov, J. K.
- Affiliations
- Stanford University (US)
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (US)
- Corresponding author
- Montoya, Joseph H.
- Nørskov, Jens K.
- Venue
- ChemSusChem
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-06-10
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 13
- Pages
- 2180-2186
- ISSN
- 1864-5631 (ISSN-L)
- 1864-564X
- OpenAlex
- W2148707525
- Cited by
- 1,384
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 90 · 2025: 127 · 2024: 170 · 2023: 168 · 2022: 219 · 2021: 194 · 2020: 189 · 2019: 125 · 2018: 67 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 3
- FWCI
- 11.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- ChemSusChem (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Technical University of Denmark, DTU Orbit (Technical University of Denmark, DTU) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Chemical Engineering › Catalysis › Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Keywords
- electrochemical nitrogen reduction, nitrogen reduction, scaling laws, adsorption energy, overpotential, electrocatalyst design, low-temperature electrocatalysis
- MeSH terms
- Ammonia, Nitrogen, Oxidation-Reduction, Transition Elements, Electrochemical Techniques
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