Synthesis of Ammonia Directly from Air and Water via a Single-Chamber Reactor Using Lanthanum Chromite-Based Composite as an Electrocatalyst

Carbon-free electrosynthesis of ammonia using water (H2 source) and air (N2 source) is promising technology to reduce the global CO2 emission resulting from the industrial ammonia production process (Haber-Bosch). In this study, electrocatalysis activity of non-noble metal perovskite-based catalyst (La0.75Sr0.25Cr0.5Fe0.5O3-δ-Ce0.8Gd0.18Ca0.02O2-δ, LSCrF-CGDC) for ammonia synthesis directly from air and water was explored. Ammonia was successfully from wet air (3%H2O) synthesized in a single-chamber type reactor. The highest ammonia formation rate and Faradaic efficiency of about 1.94×10-11 mol s-1 cm-2 and 2.01% were achieved at 375 oC and 1.2 V, respectively. The observed ammonia formation rate is higher than reported for an expensive noble metal-based catalyst (Ru/MgO). The obtained results indicated that the direct synthesis of ammonia from air and water is a promising technology for green and sustainable ammonia synthesis.