Mechanochemistry for ammonia synthesis under mild conditions

Ammonia, one of the most important synthetic feedstocks, is mainly produced by the Haber-Bosch process at 400-500 °C and above 100 bar. The process cannot be performed under ambient conditions for kinetic reasons. Here, we demonstrate that ammonia can be synthesized at 45 °C and 1 bar via a mechanochemical method using an iron-based catalyst. With this process the ammonia final concentration reached 82.5 vol%, which is higher than state-of-the-art ammonia synthesis under high temperature and pressure (25 vol%, 450 °C, 200 bar). The mechanochemically induced high defect density and violent impact on the iron catalyst were responsible for the mild synthesis conditions.