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Bioelectrochemical Haber–Bosch Process: An Ammonia‐Producing H 2 /N 2 Fuel Cell
Author(s) -
Milton Ross D.,
Cai Rong,
Abdellaoui Sofiene,
Leech Dónal,
De Lacey Antonio L.,
Pita Marcos,
Minteer Shelley D.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201612500
Subject(s) - nitrogenase , hydrogenase , ammonia , cathode , hydrogen , faraday efficiency , chemistry , electrode , nitrogen , fuel cells , inorganic chemistry , enzyme , electrochemistry , nitrogen fixation , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , engineering
Nitrogenases are the only enzymes known to reduce molecular nitrogen (N 2 ) to ammonia (NH 3 ). By using methyl viologen ( N , N ′‐dimethyl‐4,4′‐bipyridinium) to shuttle electrons to nitrogenase, N 2 reduction to NH 3 can be mediated at an electrode surface. The coupling of this nitrogenase cathode with a bioanode that utilizes the enzyme hydrogenase to oxidize molecular hydrogen (H 2 ) results in an enzymatic fuel cell (EFC) that is able to produce NH 3 from H 2 and N 2 while simultaneously producing an electrical current. To demonstrate this, a charge of 60 mC was passed across H 2 /N 2 EFCs, which resulted in the formation of 286 nmol NH 3 mg −1 MoFe protein, corresponding to a Faradaic efficiency of 26.4 %.