Electrocatalytic Synthesis of Ammonia at Room Temperature and Atmospheric Pressure from Water and Nitrogen on a Carbon‐Nanotube‐Based Electrocatalyst

Abstract

Abstract Ammonia is synthesized directly from water and N 2 at room temperature and atmospheric pressure in a flow electrochemical cell operating in gas phase (half‐cell for the NH 3 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 g m −2 h −1 was obtained at room temperature and atmospheric pressure in a flow of N 2 , with stable behavior for at least 60 h of reaction, under an applied potential of −2.0 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 NH 3 electrocatalytic synthesis may be associated to specific carbon sites formed at the interface between iron particles and CNT and able to activate N 2 , making it more reactive towards hydrogenation.