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Electrochemical Synthesis of Ammonia Based on Co3Mo3N Catalyst and LiAlO2–(Li,Na,K)2CO3 Composite Electrolyte

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Abstract

Cobalt molybdenum nitride (Co3Mo3N) catalyst was synthesised through ammonolysis of the corresponding precursors by flowing pure ammonia gas. The catalyst was characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Ammonia was successfully synthesised from wet hydrogen and dry nitrogen at atmospheric pressure using Co3Mo3N–Ag composite as cathode, Ag–Pd alloy as anode and LiAlO2–(Li/Na/K)2CO3 composite as an electrolyte. Ammonia formation was investigated at 400, 425 and 450 °C, and the maximum observed ammonia formation rate was 3.27×10−10 mol s−1 cm−2 at 450 °C when applied at 0.8 V. The catalytic activity of Co3Mo3N for electrochemical ammonia synthesis is lower than that of Pd. The successful synthesis of ammonia demonstrates that LiAlO2–(Li/Na/K)2CO3 composite exhibits protonic or/and oxygen ion conduction.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully thank EPSRC SuperGen XIV ‘Delivery of Sustainable Hydrogen’ project (Grant No. EP/G01244X/1) for the funding. One of the authors (Ibrahim A. Amar) thanks The Libyan Cultural Affairs, London for the support of his study in UK.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical & Process Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G1 1XJ, UK

    Ibrahim A. Amar, Rong Lan, Christophe T. G. Petit & Shanwen Tao

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  1. Ibrahim A. Amar
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  2. Rong Lan
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  3. Christophe T. G. Petit
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  4. Shanwen Tao
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Correspondence to Shanwen Tao.

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Amar, I.A., Lan, R., Petit, C.T.G. et al. Electrochemical Synthesis of Ammonia Based on Co3Mo3N Catalyst and LiAlO2–(Li,Na,K)2CO3 Composite Electrolyte. Electrocatalysis 6, 286–294 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12678-014-0242-x

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