Invention Summary:
Ammonia is one of the most widely produced industrial chemicals, primarily used for fertilizer production. Ammonia has also emerged as a potential hydrogen carrier for green power storage. The dominant industrial process for ammonia production is the Haber-Bosch process, which operates under high temperature and high pressure conditions. The Haber-Bosch process relies on H2 produced from fossil fuels and accounts for over 1% of global CO2 emissions. Current approaches to reduce CO2 emissions in ammonia production utilize electrochemical methods. However, these methods are commonly plagued by low efficiency due to the hydrogen evolution reaction outcompeting the nitrogen reduction reaction.
Researchers at Rutgers have developed a system for electrochemical generation of ammonia from N2 and H2O at ambient temperature and pressure using a tungsten oxide (WO3) based catalyst featuring a novel heterogenous interfacial complexion (HIC) structure with tungsten oxynitride (WOxNy). The unique HIC architecture offers two key advantages: (i) WO3 enables in situ generation and delivery of highly active hydrogen atoms (H*) in acidic electrolytes and (ii) H* promotes nitrogen hydrogenation and the formation of nitrogen vacancies (Nv) on the WOxNy surface, which significantly enhances the selectivity of eNRR for NH3 synthesis while suppressing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Consequently, both NH3 yield and Faradaic efficiency are significantly improved. Moreover, integration of the HIC catalyst with a non-equilibrium N₂ plasma to pre-activate inert N2 molecules further boosts NH3 production efficiency, providing a promising pathway toward practical, decentralized green ammonia synthesis.
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Intellectual Property & Development Status: PCT patent application filed, patent pending. Available for licensing and/or research collaboration. For any business development and other collaborative partnerships, contact: marketingbd@research.rutgers.edu