Sodium-Mediated Redox Cascade for Electrochemical Ammonia Synthesis
Abstract
Artificial ammonia synthesis is vital to modern life; however, the Haber-Bosch process, by which most ammonia is synthesized, is capital- and carbon-intensive. Zero-valent-metal-mediated ammonia synthesis is a promising alternative but requires a metal that is both a strong reductant and forms a stable nitride. Only a small number of metals, like lithium, can satisfy these constraints. Therefore, we developed an electrochemical paradigm enabling the use of different reductants by orthogonalizing the roles of the zero-valent metal between sodium metal and a Ti active site. These components are cheaper than lithium by two orders of magnitude. Using a sodium-naphthalene-titanium cascade, we achieved a rate of 475 nmol cm -2 s -1 and a Faradaic efficiency of 24%, and found that the reaction rate depends primarily on current density.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction
Caching and Content Delivery
Hydrogen Storage and Materials
Publication details
- Journal / source
- ECS Meeting Abstracts
- Publisher
- The Electrochemical Society
- Volume
- MA2026-01
- Issue
- 40
- Pages
- 2042–2042
- Publication date
- 7 July 2026
- Language
- EN