Protonic ceramic electrochemical cells: Opportunities and challenges for ammonia synthesis
Qinyi Hu,
Chuan Tian,
Di Bao,
Haixia Zhong,
Xinbo Zhang
Affiliations
Qinyi Hu
State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China; School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Chuan Tian
Jilin Normal University, Key Laboratory of Preparation and Applications of Environmentally Friendly Materials, Ministry of Education, Changchun, Jilin 130103, China
Di Bao
State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China
Haixia Zhong
State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China; School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; Corresponding author at: State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China
Xinbo Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China; School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; Corresponding author at: State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China
Electrochemical ammonia synthesis is being widely investigated to couple with renewable electricity for future sustainable ammonia production. Protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (PCECs) possess superior energy transfer efficiency and remarkable flexibility to produce high-demand chemicals such as H2, CH4, and NH3 from readily available feedstocks (e.g., H2O, CO2, N2). Despite recent advances that have been established, the research for the high-efficiency PCECs for practical ammonia synthesis continues. In this review, we summarized the recent progress of PCECs for ammonia synthesis. First, we briefly introduce the basic mechanisms and protocols of the ammonia synthesis. Then, we systemically introduce the cell configurations, representative electrolytes and electrodes of PCECs for the ammonia synthesis. We highlight the strategies to tune the ion/electron mobility and the catalytic performance, which are related to the defect structures and redox properties of the electrolyte/electrode, and the opportunities for next-generation ammonia synthesis. Finally, perspectives on ammonia synthesis in PCECs are proposed consering the current challenges.
