Selective catalytic oxidation of ammonia to nitric oxide via chemical looping.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35132054.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-28370-0 and PMC identifier 8821626.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Selective oxidation of ammonia to nitric oxide over platinum-group metal alloy gauzes is the crucial step for nitric acid production, a century-old yet greenhouse gas and capital intensive process. Therefore, developing alternative ammonia oxidation technologies with low environmental impacts and reduced catalyst cost are of significant importance. Herein, we propose and demonstrate a chemical looping ammonia oxidation catalyst and process to replace the costly noble metal catalysts and to reduce greenhouse gas emission. The proposed process exhibit near complete NH<sub>3</sub> conversion and exceptional NO selectivity with negligible N<sub>2</sub>O production, using nonprecious V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> redox catalyst at 650 <sup>o</sup>C. Operando spectroscopy techniques and density functional theory calculations point towards a modified, temporally separated Mars-van Krevelen mechanism featuring a reversible V<sup>5+</sup>/V<sup>4+</sup> redox cycle. The V = O sites are suggested to be the catalytically active center leading to the formation of the oxidation products. Meanwhile, both V = O and doubly coordinated oxygen participate in the hydrogen transfer process. The outstanding performance originates from the low activation energies for the successive hydrogen abstraction, facile NO formation as well as the easy regeneration of V = O species. Our results highlight a transformational process in extending the chemical looping strategy to producing base chemicals in a sustainable and cost-effective manner.