Novel Nitrogen Fixation

The Haber-Bosch process is the industrial method for ammonia production on commercial scale in the world. Our research group has developed a cleaner and environmentally friendly method for nitrogen fixation.

A researcher assembling a small electrochemical cell — Representative image: assembling an electrochemical test cell. Photo: Sandia National Laboratories / U.S. Department of Energy, public domain.

We were co-depositing green-synthesized nanoparticle compounds on Pd cathodes electrolytically in our lab when we saw a sudden decompression of the roughly 1.5 atm of nitrogen in the head space of our cells. This decompression corresponded with nitrogen fixation, since the composition of gas in this ~100 ml head space volume was approximately 78% nitrogen gas. The decompression went down to roughly 40 torr in one cell, and we have now seen this effect repeatedly.

It is interesting since the pressure was about 1.5 atm, and the temperature of these electrolytic cells was about 40 °C. A total power dissipation by electrolysis was about 0.8 W. This appears to be a very low energy requirement, when compared to the Haber-Bosch process, to fix nitrogen. We have chemically confirmed NH₃ / NH₄⁺ and NO_x in the electrolyte following the decompressions, when none was there initially.