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Comprehensive Understanding of the Thriving Ambient Electrochemical Nitrogen Reduction Reaction
Author(s) -
Zhao Xue,
Hu Guangzhi,
Chen GaoFeng,
Zhang Haibo,
Zhang Shusheng,
Wang Haihui
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.202007650
Subject(s) - bottleneck , biochemical engineering , redox , ammonia , nanotechnology , thriving , electrochemistry , computer science , process engineering , combinatorial chemistry , environmental science , materials science , chemistry , inorganic chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering , psychology , electrode , psychotherapist , embedded system
The electrochemical method of combining N 2 and H 2 O to produce ammonia (i.e., the electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction [E‐NRR]) continues to draw attention as it is both environmentally friendly and well suited for a progressively distributed farm economy. Despite the multitude of recent works on the E‐NRR, further progress in this field faces a bottleneck. On the one hand, despite the extensive exploration and trial‐and‐error evaluation of E‐NRR catalysts, no study has stood out to become the stage protagonist. On the other hand, the current level of ammonia production (microgram‐scale) is an almost insurmountable obstacle for its qualitative and quantitative determination, hindering the discrimination between true activity and contamination. Herein i) the popular theory and mechanism of the NRR are introduced; ii) a comprehensive summary of the recent progress in the field of the E‐NRR and related catalysts is provided; iii) the operational procedures of the E‐NRR are addressed, including the acquisition of key metrics, the challenges faced, and the most suitable solutions; iv) the guiding principles and standardized recommendations for the E‐NRR are emphasized and future research directions and prospects are provided.