Chang Fei, Gao Wenbo, Guo Jianping, Chen Ping
Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, China.
Energy College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
Adv Mater. 2021 Dec;33(50):e2005721. doi: 10.1002/adma.202005721. Epub 2021 Apr 8.
Efficient storage and conversion of renewable energies is of critical importance to the sustainable growth of human society. With its distinguishing features of high hydrogen content, high energy density, facile storage/transportation, and zero-carbon emission, ammonia has been recently considered as a promising energy carrier for long-term and large-scale energy storage. Under this scenario, the synthesis, storage, and utilization of ammonia are key components for the implementation of ammonia-mediated energy system. Being different from fossil fuels, renewable energies normally have intermittent and variable nature, and thus pose demands on the improvement of existing technologies and simultaneously the development of alternative methods and materials for ammonia synthesis and storage. The energy release from ammonia in an efficient manner, on the other hand, is vital to achieve a sustainable energy supply and complete the nitrogen circle. Herein, recent advances in the thermal-, electro-, plasma-, and photocatalytic ammonia synthesis, ammonia storage or separation, ammonia thermal/electrochemical decomposition and conversion are summarized with the emphasis on the latest developments of new methods and materials (catalysts, electrodes, and sorbents) for these processes. The challenges and potential solutions are discussed.
可再生能源的高效存储和转化对人类社会的可持续发展至关重要。氨气因其氢含量高、能量密度高、储存/运输便捷以及零碳排放等显著特点，近来被视为一种极具潜力的长期大规模储能能源载体。在此背景下，氨的合成、储存和利用是实现氨介导能源系统的关键组成部分。与化石燃料不同，可再生能源通常具有间歇性和多变性，因此对改进现有技术以及同时开发用于氨合成和储存的替代方法和材料提出了要求。另一方面，以高效方式从氨中释放能量对于实现可持续能源供应和完成氮循环至关重要。本文总结了热催化、电催化、等离子体催化和光催化氨合成、氨储存或分离、氨热分解/电化学分解及转化方面的最新进展，重点介绍了用于这些过程的新方法和材料（催化剂、电极和吸附剂）的最新发展情况。并讨论了面临的挑战和潜在解决方案。
