Achievements, Challenges, and Perspectives on Nitrogen Electrochemistry for Carbon-Neutral Energy Technologies

Unrestrained anthropogenic activities have severely disrupted the global natural nitrogen cycle, causing numerous energy and environmental issues. Electrocatalytic nitrogen transformation is a feasible and promising strategy for achieving a sustainable nitrogen economy. Synergistically combining multiple nitrogen reactions can realize efficient renewable energy storage and conversion, restore the global nitrogen balance, and remediate environmental crises. Here, we provide a unique aspect to discuss the intriguing nitrogen electrochemistry by linking three essential nitrogen-containing compounds (i.e., N-2, NH3, and NO3-) and integrating four essential electrochemical reactions, i.e., the nitrogen reduction reaction (N2RR), nitrogen oxidation reaction (N2OR), nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR), and ammonia oxidation reaction (NH3OR). This minireview also summarizes the acquired knowledge of rational catalyst design and underlying reaction mechanisms for these interlinked nitrogen reactions. We further underscore the associated clean energy technologies and a sustainable nitrogen-based economy.

Automated summary

Unrestrained anthropogenic activities disrupt the global natural nitrogen cycle, leading to energy and environmental issues. Electrocatalytic nitrogen transformation offers a feasible and promising strategy for a sustainable nitrogen economy. By synergistically combining multiple nitrogen reactions, efficient renewable energy storage and conversion, nitrogen balance restoration, and environmental crisis remediation can be achieved.