Catalysts for electrochemical ammonia oxidation: Trend, challenge, and promise

Developing sustainable and clean energy technology is critial to address the current energy and environmental crisis. As an energy carrier, hydrogen has been getting attention due to its abundance, high energy density, and zero carbon emission. Due to the difficulty of hydrogen storage and transport, the electro-oxidation of ammonia shows great potential for renewable energy since it satisfies both energy supply and environmental protection as a carbon-free fuel with high hydrogen content. However, ammonia electro-oxidation is a sluggish reaction and shows low durability. Understanding the complicated mechanism and intermediates is conducive to developing efficient electrocatalysts with high catalytic activity and durability. This review begins with the ammonia oxidation technologies and their principles. The two typical mechanisms for ammonia electro-oxidation, Oswin-Salomon mechanism and Gerischer-Mauerer mechanism, are discussed, and attention to the poisoning species is included. Then, the electrocatalysts for ammonia reaction are classified into Pt-based catalysts and non-noble metal-based catalysts, and their performances are reviewed with various strategies. Based on the progress on the electrochemical ammonia oxidation catalysts, the challenges and future insight on ammonia oxidation reaction are discussed and proposed.