Researchers, such as central Florida University, have developed a new electrochemical technology that can produce ammonia in nitrogen and water at normal temperature and atmospheric pressure, requiring only a small amount of electricity, which is more efficient than the same technology.

Ammonia based fertilizer is a major pillar of modern agriculture. At present, the industrial use of synthetic ammonia technology is still the early twentieth Century hash law, making nitrogen and hydrogen reaction under high temperature and high pressure, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are higher. Electrochemical synthesis of ammonia to replace the HB method is a hot research topic in related fields.

In previous studies, the selectivity of the reaction has been very low. The Faraday efficiency, that is, the ratio of the charge of the reaction to the total charge on the surface of the electrode, is often less than 1%, which means that more than 99% of the energy is consumed by an unnecessary side reaction. The key of the new technology is to use the metal palladium compound nanoparticles as the catalyst to improve the activity and selectivity of the reaction. The Faraday efficiency reaches 8.2%. The voltage required for the new technology is also low.

The special properties of the palladium catalyst make it able to efficiently transfer hydrogen atoms in water molecules to nitrogen molecules, improve the efficiency of the key steps of ammonia synthesis, and inhibit the side reactions, which are better than other catalysts such as gold and platinum. This idea can also be used in other fields, such as making fuel from carbon dioxide.

The technology does not require high temperature and high pressure. Production facilities can be installed in any place with power supply, such as wind or solar power stations, which can be expected to achieve sustainable and distributed production of synthetic ammonia.