Scientists develop catalyst designed to make ammonia production more sustainable

Created at a FAPESP-supported research center, the material helps produce ammonia by electrochemical reduction of nitrogen gas, dispensing with the high temperature and pressure required by the conventional method

FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO

Ammonia is one of the most widely produced chemicals in the world, and is used in a great many manufacturing and service industries. The conventional production technology is the Haber-Bosch process, which combines nitrogen gas (N2) and hydrogen gas (H2) in a reactor in the presence of a catalyst. This process requires high levels of temperature and pressure, resulting in substantial power consumption. Indeed, ammonia production is estimated to consume 1%-2% of the world’s electricity and to account for about 3% of global carbon emissions.

In pursuit of more sustainable alternatives, researchers affiliated with the Center for Development of Functional Materials (CDMF) have developed an electrochemical nitrogen reduction process using catalysts made of iron oxide and molybdenum disulfide. Because the process is electrochemical, it does not require high temperature and pressure.

CDMF is one of the Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (RIDCs) supported by FAPESP, and is hosted by the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar).

An article on the subject is published in the journal Electrochimica Acta. The authors are Caio Vinícius da Silva Almeida, a postdoctoral fellow at UFSCar with a scholarship from FAPESP, and Lucia Helena Mascaro, a professor in UFSCar’s Department of Chemistry.

The catalysts in question are prepared by electrodeposition, a simple and inexpensive method. As reported in the article, they are efficient, stable and durable. The results of the research open up possibilities for the use of simple, low-cost catalysts in ammonia production and the synthesis of amorphous materials for nitrogen fixation.

About São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. You can learn more about FAPESP at www.fapesp.br/en and visit FAPESP news agency at www.agencia.fapesp.br/en to keep updated with the latest scientific breakthroughs FAPESP helps achieve through its many programs, awards and research centers. You may also subscribe to FAPESP news agency at http://agencia.fapesp.br/subscribe.

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JOURNAL

Electrochimica Acta

DOI

10.1016/j.electacta.2023.143680 

ARTICLE TITLE

Enhancing electrochemical N2 reduction at mild conditions with FexOy co-deposited on amorphous MoS2