Reduction of dinitrogen to ammonium through a magnesium-based electrochemical process at close-to-ambient temperature

Abstract

The Li-mediated nitrogen reduction enables practical synthesis of ammonia, but its energy efficiency is limited by the Li^0/+ redox potential. To improve on this, a mediator with a more positive potential, like Mg^0/2+, is required. Herein, we demonstrate that electrodeposited Mg⁰ reacts with N₂ at a close-to-ambient temperature, and the resulting material can be converted into NH₄⁺. This two-step process can produce ammonium with faradaic efficiency of up to 7% and yield rate up to 66 nmol s⁻¹ cm⁻².