Recent advances in strategies for highly selective electrocatalytic N-2 reduction toward ambient NH3 synthesis

Industrial NH3 production mainly relies on the Haber-Bosch process, which is energy-intensive, heavily dependent on fossil fuels with massive greenhouse gas emission. Electrochemical N-2-to-NH3 conversion is an attractive method to address this issue. The great challenge for this process is its limited selectivity because of the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction and the sluggish kinetics of N-2 reduction reaction. In this review, we summarize recent progress in strategies in improving the NH3 selectivity for the electrochemical N-2 reduction reaction, including electrocatalyst tuning, electrolyte choice, and cell configuration design.

Automated summary

The review summarizes recent progress in strategies for improving NH3 selectivity in the electrochemical N-2 reduction reaction, including electrocatalyst tuning, electrolyte choice, and cell configuration design.