Revolutionizing NH3 Production: Green and Sustainable N2 Photofixation Under Ambient Conditions
Key Ideas
- NH3 production from N2 reduction is crucial for agriculture and industry, with NH3 being a key component in chemical fertilizers and various industrial applications.
- Researchers are exploring sustainable approaches like solar chemical reactions and green catalytic methods to produce NH3, aiming to address energy concerns and reduce environmental impact.
- Plasmonic catalysts, especially those utilizing metal NPs to focus light energy onto catalytic surfaces, show promise in enhancing NH3 production efficiency from N2 under ambient conditions.
- Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) with atomically dispersed porous active metal sites are being investigated for NH3 production, with Fe-based MOFs showing significant performance in catalyzing NH3 production from N2.
The process of NH3 production from N2 reduction plays a vital role in agriculture and industry due to NH3 being a major component in chemical fertilizers and various industrial applications. Currently, the conventional Haber-Bosch process used for NH3 production is expensive, energy-intensive, and emits CO2. Researchers are now focusing on sustainable and environmentally friendly approaches such as solar chemical reactions and green catalytic methods to produce NH3. Plasmonic catalysts, particularly those using metal nanoparticles to concentrate light energy on catalytic surfaces, are being explored to enhance NH3 production efficiency from N2 under ambient conditions. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) with atomically dispersed active metal sites are also gaining attention for NH3 production, with Fe-based MOFs showing promise in catalyzing NH3 production from N2. By developing high-performance plasmonic metal-containing catalysts, the goal is to efficiently produce NH3 through N2 photofixation, offering a greener and more sustainable alternative to current methods.