{"title":"Electrocatalytic nitrogen cycle: mechanism, materials, and momentum","authors":"Laiquan Li, Linyuan Xu, Hanyun Wang, Haohong Wei, Cheng Tang, Guisheng Li, Yuhai Dou, Huakun Liu, Shi Xue Dou","doi":"10.1039/d4ee03156c","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Artificial nitrogen fixation has been pivotal in escalating agricultural productivity and sustaining exponential human population growth. Nonetheless, these practices have concurrently perturbed the natural nitrogen cycle, engendering a plethora of environmental challenges. The advent of electrochemical nitrogen transformation techniques represents a burgeoning avenue for rectifying the nitrogen cycle's imbalance and for synthesizing value-added nitrogenous products from atmospheric nitrogen. In this review, we delve into the recent progress concerning the electrocatalytic interconversion among key nitrogen species, namely N2, NOx(-), and NH3. Our examination encompasses a multifaceted analysis, including the elucidation of reaction mechanisms and a critical evaluation of the intrinsic challenges behind each reaction and the strategies to boost their translation to practical applications. Extending beyond primary nitrogen transformations, we also assess a spectrum of emergent and promising directions. These include lithium-mediated nitrogen fixation, carbon-nitrogen coupling reactions, and the development of electrochemical batteries harnessing nitrogen transformation chemistry. This review aims to offer a critical and forward-looking perspective on the role of electrocatalysis in modulating the nitrogen cycle and to highlight untapped opportunities for its application in a myriad of innovative domains.","PeriodicalId":72,"journal":{"name":"Energy & Environmental Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":32.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Energy & Environmental Science","FirstCategoryId":"88","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d4ee03156c","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Artificial nitrogen fixation has been pivotal in escalating agricultural productivity and sustaining exponential human population growth. Nonetheless, these practices have concurrently perturbed the natural nitrogen cycle, engendering a plethora of environmental challenges. The advent of electrochemical nitrogen transformation techniques represents a burgeoning avenue for rectifying the nitrogen cycle's imbalance and for synthesizing value-added nitrogenous products from atmospheric nitrogen. In this review, we delve into the recent progress concerning the electrocatalytic interconversion among key nitrogen species, namely N2, NOx(-), and NH3. Our examination encompasses a multifaceted analysis, including the elucidation of reaction mechanisms and a critical evaluation of the intrinsic challenges behind each reaction and the strategies to boost their translation to practical applications. Extending beyond primary nitrogen transformations, we also assess a spectrum of emergent and promising directions. These include lithium-mediated nitrogen fixation, carbon-nitrogen coupling reactions, and the development of electrochemical batteries harnessing nitrogen transformation chemistry. This review aims to offer a critical and forward-looking perspective on the role of electrocatalysis in modulating the nitrogen cycle and to highlight untapped opportunities for its application in a myriad of innovative domains.
期刊介绍:
Energy & Environmental Science, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, publishes original research and review articles covering interdisciplinary topics in the (bio)chemical and (bio)physical sciences, as well as chemical engineering disciplines. Published monthly by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), a not-for-profit publisher, Energy & Environmental Science is recognized as a leading journal. It boasts an impressive impact factor of 8.500 as of 2009, ranking 8th among 140 journals in the category "Chemistry, Multidisciplinary," second among 71 journals in "Energy & Fuels," second among 128 journals in "Engineering, Chemical," and first among 181 scientific journals in "Environmental Sciences."
Energy & Environmental Science publishes various types of articles, including Research Papers (original scientific work), Review Articles, Perspectives, and Minireviews (feature review-type articles of broad interest), Communications (original scientific work of an urgent nature), Opinions (personal, often speculative viewpoints or hypotheses on current topics), and Analysis Articles (in-depth examination of energy-related issues).