Synthesis of Ammonia Directly from Air and Water v<i>ia</i> a Single-Chamber Reactor Using Lanthanum Chromite-Based Composite as an Electrocatalyst

Carbon-free electrosynthesis of ammonia using water (H 2 source) and air (N 2 source) is promising technology to reduce the global CO 2 emission resulting from the industrial ammonia production process (Haber-Bosch). In this study, electrocatalysis activity of non-noble metal perovskite-based catalyst (La 0.75 Sr 0.25 Cr 0.5 Fe 0.5 O 3- δ -Ce 0.8 Gd 0.18 Ca 0.02 O 2- δ , LSCrF-CGDC) for ammonia synthesis directly from air and water was explored. Ammonia was successfully from wet air (3%H 2 O) 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.