Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 1, 2025

Ammonia Synthesis at Low Pressure
Published on: August 23, 2017
Electrochemical Ammonia Synthesis at p-Block Active Sites Using Various Nitrogen Sources: Theoretical Insights
Shuhua Wang1, Baibiao Huang1, Ying Dai1
1School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China.
Abstract:
Electrochemical nitrogen conversion for ammonia (NH3) synthesis, driven by renewable electricity, offers a sustainable alternative to the traditional Haber-Bosch process. However, this conversion process remains limited by a low Faradaic efficiency (FE) and NH3 yield. Although transition metals have been widely studied as catalysts for NH3 synthesis through effective electron donation/back-donation mechanisms, there are challenges in electrochemical environments, including competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and catalyst stability issues. In contrast, p-block elements show unique advantages in light of higher selectivity for nitrogen activation and chemical stability. The present article explores the potential of p-block element-based catalysts as active sites for NH3 synthesis, discussing their activation mechanisms, performance modulation strategies, and future research directions from a theoretical perspective.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Preparation of Amines: Alkylation of Ammonia and Amines
Each alkylation step makes the nitrogen center more nucleophilic, which triggers successive alkylations until a quaternary ammonium salt is formed. Considering...
Structure of Amines
Overview of Nitrogen Metabolism
The largest pool of nitrogen available in the terrestrial ecosystem is gaseous nitrogen (N2) from the air, but this...
Preparation of 1° Amines: Gabriel Synthesis
Strong bases like NaOH or KOH deprotonate the phthalimide to form the corresponding anion, which acts as a nucleophile. Further, the anion attacks an...
Basicity of Aliphatic Amines
To measure the basicity of amines, two conventions are generally used. The first defines Kb as the basicity constant for the deprotonation reaction of water by the amine, as presented in Figure 1. Conventionally, lower Kb indicates...
Amines: Introduction

