Study on Plasma Activated N2/O2 Coupled Electrocatalytic Reduction of Ammonia Synthesis
ZHU Heyang1, YU Mingwei1, LEI Lecheng1,2, YANG Bin1,2
1. College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China;
2. Institute of Zhejiang University-Quzhou, Quzhou 324000, China
Abstract：A non-thermal plasma coupled electrocatalytic N2 reduction reaction (NTP-ENRR) system was developed to solve the issues of extremely low ammonia yield and unsatisfactory Faraday efficiency in the electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (ENRR) for ammonia synthesis. N2 was fixed in solution in the form of and by introducing N2/O2 plasma activation process before electrocatalytic reaction. Metal nanocatalysts, including Cu, Pd and Ag, were synthesized by chemical reduction method, and their performance in electrocatalytic reduction of ammonia synthesis were studied. Among them, the Cu NPs catalyst achieved an extremely high ammonia yield of 4 222 μg/(mg·h), which was 2-3 orders of magnitude higher than the traditional direct ENRR ammonia synthesis, and the Faraday efficiency reached 88.6%. The efficient activation of N2/O2 molecules by plasma, the small charge transfer resistance of Cu NPs and the exposure of more effective crystal faces collectively promoted the efficient synthesis of ammonia. This process utilizes renewable energy sources, enabling green and rapid ammonia synthesis under mild conditions using N2 as nitrogen source and H2O as hydrogen source, thus demonstrating promising application prospect.
ZHU Heyang,YU Mingwei,LEI Lecheng et al. Study on Plasma Activated N2/O2 Coupled Electrocatalytic Reduction of Ammonia Synthesis[J]. Chemical Reaction Engineering and Technology, 2025, 41(3): 349-360.
