Electrocatalytic synthesis of ammonia under ambient conditions with Ru@Co₃O₄ nanowires as electrocatalyst

Abstract

Ammonia production is essential for agriculture and chemical industry but the current industrial Haber-Bosch process is energy-intensive and emits much greenhouse gases. Electrochemical methods, like nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), have potential as an alternative, but are limited by low yield and efficiency. Nitrate ions offer a promising alternative due to their better reaction kinetics and lower dissociation energy for ammonia synthesis, with economic and environmental benefits as they are a common water pollutant. This project aims to investigate Ru@Co3O4 nanowires as an electrocatalyst for sustainable ammonia synthesis and also to optimise the concentrations of Ru addition. The results indicate that 4mM Ru@Co3O4 nanowires have comparable performance for nitrate reduction to other reported electrocatalysts, achieving approximately 88% Faradaic Efficiency at -0.4V vs RHE and ammonia yield of around 3930 micrograms/hcm2 at - 0.6V vs RHE. Therefore, the results of this study provide a promising foundation for the development of high-performance electrocatalysts to mitigate the issues associated with current ammonia production methods.