Shielding Protection by Mesoporous Catalysts for Improving Plasma-Catalytic Ambient Ammonia Synthesis



Wang, Yaolin ORCID: 0000-0003-1932-9810, Yang, Wenjie, Xu, Shanshan, Zhao, Shufang, Chen, Guoxing, Weidenkaff, Anke, Hardacre, Christopher, Fan, Xiaolei, Huang, Jun and Tu, Xin ORCID: 0000-0002-6376-0897
(2022) Shielding Protection by Mesoporous Catalysts for Improving Plasma-Catalytic Ambient Ammonia Synthesis. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, 144 (27). pp. 12020-12031.

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Abstract

Plasma catalysis is a promising technology for decentralized small-scale ammonia (NH<sub>3</sub>) synthesis under mild conditions using renewable energy, and it shows great potential as an alternative to the conventional Haber-Bosch process. To date, this emerging process still suffers from a low NH<sub>3</sub> yield due to a lack of knowledge in the design of highly efficient catalysts and the in situ plasma-induced reverse reaction (i.e., NH<sub>3</sub> decomposition). Here, we demonstrate that a bespoke design of supported Ni catalysts using mesoporous MCM-41 could enable efficient plasma-catalytic NH<sub>3</sub> production at 35 °C and 1 bar with >5% NH<sub>3</sub> yield at 60 kJ/L. Specifically, the Ni active sites were deliberately deposited on the external surface of MCM-41 to enhance plasma-catalyst interactions and thus NH<sub>3</sub> production. The desorbed NH<sub>3</sub> could then diffuse into the ordered mesopores of MCM-41 to be shielded from decomposition due to the absence of plasma discharge in the mesopores of MCM-41, that is, "shielding protection", thus driving the reaction forward effectively. This promising strategy sheds light on the importance of a rational design of catalysts specifically for improving plasma-catalytic processes.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: 7 Affordable and Clean Energy, 13 Climate Action
Divisions: Faculty of Science and Engineering > School of Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Computer Science
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 23 Jun 2022 13:38
Last Modified: 15 Mar 2024 11:39
DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c01950
Open Access URL: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.2c01950
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3157043