能源化学(英文版)

能源化学(英文) ›› 2017, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (6): 1107-1116.DOI: 10.1016/j.jechem.2017.09.012

• Reviews • 上一篇    下一篇

Lowering reaction temperature:Electrochemical ammonia synthesis by coupling various electrolytes and catalysts

Xinghua Guoa, Yunpei Zhub, Tianyi Mac,d   

  1. a College of Chemistry, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110000, Liaoning, China;
    b College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China;
    c School of Chemical Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia;
    d Discipline of Chemistry, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia
  • 收稿日期:2017-08-14 修回日期:2017-09-09 出版日期:2017-11-15 发布日期:2017-11-24
  • 通讯作者: Tianyi Ma,E-mail address:tian-yi.ma@adelaide.edu.au
  • 作者简介:Xinghua Guo is an associate professor of Liaoning University, China. He received his Ph.D. degree from Harbin Institute of Technology in 2009 and became an associate professor in 2014 at Institute Metal Research;Yunpei Zhu received his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Nankai University and his research interests relate to the design and development of functional nanostructured materials;Tianyi Ma received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Nankai University, Dr. Ma worked as a postdoctoral research fellow from 2013 to 2014 in School of Chemical Engineering, University of Adelaide.
  • 基金资助:

    This work was supported by the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (51402307), the Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE150101306) and Linkage Project (LP160100927).

Lowering reaction temperature:Electrochemical ammonia synthesis by coupling various electrolytes and catalysts

Xinghua Guoa, Yunpei Zhub, Tianyi Mac,d   

  1. a College of Chemistry, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110000, Liaoning, China;
    b College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China;
    c School of Chemical Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia;
    d Discipline of Chemistry, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia
  • Received:2017-08-14 Revised:2017-09-09 Online:2017-11-15 Published:2017-11-24
  • Contact: Tianyi Ma,E-mail address:tian-yi.ma@adelaide.edu.au
  • About author:Xinghua Guo is an associate professor of Liaoning University, China. He received his Ph.D. degree from Harbin Institute of Technology in 2009 and became an associate professor in 2014 at Institute Metal Research;Yunpei Zhu received his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Nankai University and his research interests relate to the design and development of functional nanostructured materials;Tianyi Ma received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Nankai University, Dr. Ma worked as a postdoctoral research fellow from 2013 to 2014 in School of Chemical Engineering, University of Adelaide.
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (51402307), the Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE150101306) and Linkage Project (LP160100927).

摘要： Ammonia is a vital emerging energy carrier and storage medium in the future hydrogen economy, even presenting relevant advantages compared with methanol due to the higher hydrogen content (17.6 wt% for ammonia versus 12.5 wt% for methanol). The rapidly growing demand for ammonia is still dependent on the conventional high-temperature and high-pressure Haber-Bosch process, which can deliver a conversion rate of about 10%-15%. However, the overall process requires a large amount of fossil fuels, resulting in serious environmental problems. Alternatively, electrochemical routes show the potential to greatly reduce the energy consumption, including sustainable energy sources and simplify the reactor design. Electrolytes perform as indispensable reaction medium during electrochemical processes, which can be further classified into solid oxide electrolytes, molten salt electrolytes, polymer electrolytes, and liquid electrolytes. In this review, recent developments and advances of the electrocatalytic ammonia synthesis catalyzed by a series of functional materials on the basis of aforementioned electrolytes have been summarized and discussed, along with the presentation and evaluation of catalyst preparation, reaction parameters and equipment.

关键词: Electrocatalysis, Functional material, Ammonia synthesis, Electrolyte

Abstract: Ammonia is a vital emerging energy carrier and storage medium in the future hydrogen economy, even presenting relevant advantages compared with methanol due to the higher hydrogen content (17.6 wt% for ammonia versus 12.5 wt% for methanol). The rapidly growing demand for ammonia is still dependent on the conventional high-temperature and high-pressure Haber-Bosch process, which can deliver a conversion rate of about 10%-15%. However, the overall process requires a large amount of fossil fuels, resulting in serious environmental problems. Alternatively, electrochemical routes show the potential to greatly reduce the energy consumption, including sustainable energy sources and simplify the reactor design. Electrolytes perform as indispensable reaction medium during electrochemical processes, which can be further classified into solid oxide electrolytes, molten salt electrolytes, polymer electrolytes, and liquid electrolytes. In this review, recent developments and advances of the electrocatalytic ammonia synthesis catalyzed by a series of functional materials on the basis of aforementioned electrolytes have been summarized and discussed, along with the presentation and evaluation of catalyst preparation, reaction parameters and equipment.

Key words: Electrocatalysis, Functional material, Ammonia synthesis, Electrolyte