Accelerating lithium-mediated nitrogen reduction through an integrated palladium membrane hydrogenation reactor.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 40721605.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-62088-z and PMC identifier 12304132.
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Abstract
Lithium-mediated N<sub>2</sub> reduction reaction (LiNRR) is regarded as the most robust route towards electrifying NH<sub>3</sub> synthesis. However, in this reaction geometry, hydrogen atoms typically supplied through electrolyte degradation, via H<sub>2</sub> oxidation or a combination of both, hampering the efficiency of the process. In this work we provide an alternative H-source by merging a Pd Membrane reactor (PMR) with a LiNRR reactor in a unique dual-reactor setup. Specifically, use a Pd membrane that extracts H atoms directly from H<sub>2</sub>O and transfers them across the membrane to an electrodeposited Li layer operating under non-aqueous LiNRR conditions. We show that these H<sub>2</sub>O-derived H-atoms are used directly to synthesize NH<sub>3</sub> in the presence of N<sub>2</sub> and electrodeposited Li, thereby opening orthogonal reaction pathways within the metal-mediated nitrogen reduction concept.