Systems and methods for forming nitrogen-based compounds
AssigneeGeorgia Tech Research Corporation
InventorsMohammadreza Nazemi, Mostafa A. El-Sayed
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Abstract
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a system for forming ammonia, the system comprising: an anode; a cathode in electrical communication with the anode; and a catalyst material positioned in an electrical communication pathway between the cathode and the anode, the catalyst material comprising a plurality of nanoparticles comprising at least one of a conductor and a semiconductor, each of the nanoparticles comprising an interior cavity, wherein the system is configured to use nitrogen and water to generate ammonia.
Claims18
A system comprising:
- an anode configured for an anodic reaction;
- a cathode configured for a cathodic reaction, the cathode independent from the anode while in electrical communication with the anode;
- an ion exchange membrane separating the anode and the cathode;
- and
- a catalyst material comprising hollow gold nano-cages (AuHNCs) disposed on the cathode;
- wherein a nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) occurs at the catalyst material disposed on the cathode to form a nitrogen-based compound.
A system comprising:
- an anode configured for an anodic reaction;
- a cathode configured for a cathodic reaction, the cathode independent from the anode while in electrical communication with the anode;
- an ion exchange membrane separating the anode and the cathode;
- a catalyst material comprising hollow nanoparticles disposed on the cathode;
- a voltage supply configured to supply from 0.1 V to 1 V across the anode and the cathode;
- a nitrogen source;
- and
- an electrolyte selected from the group consisting of a non-aqueous electrolyte and a solid electrolyte configured to transport ions between the anode and the cathode;
- wherein protons produced at the anode transport across the ion exchange membrane to the cathode where a nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) occurs at the catalyst material disposed on the cathode to form a nitrogen-based compound;
- wherein the catalyst material comprises a combination of semiconductor nanoparticles and hollow gold nano-cages (AuHNCs);
- and
- wherein an interior cavity of at least a portion of the nanoparticles has a cross-sectional dimension from 5 nm to 100 nm, the nanoparticles selected from the group consisting of the semiconductor nanoparticles, the AuHNCs, and a combination thereof.
A system for forming ammonia comprising:
- two or more electrodes, each being independent and separate one from another;
- a nitrogen inlet;
- an electrolyte selected from the group consisting of a non-aqueous electrolyte and a solid electrolyte;
- a voltage supply configured to supply from 0.1 V to 1 V across the electrodes in an electrical communication pathway;
- and
- a catalyst material of hollow cold nano-canes (AuHNCs) disposed on at least one cathode of the two or more electrodes;
- wherein the system, when provided a nitrogen source through the nitrogen inlet, has a yield of ammonia of 1.5 μg-h−1-cm−2 or greater measured according to the equation:
- Yield
-
- =
- (
- C
- )
-
- (
- V
- )
-
- (
- 1
-
- 7
- ×
- 1
-
- 0
- 6
- )
- (
- t
- )
-
- (
- A
- )
- wherein:
- C is a concentration of the ammonia;
- V is a volume of the electrolyte;
- t is a time of reaction;
- and
- A is a surface area of the catalyst material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.