Anjali Y, Rajeev Rijo, Manoj B, Cherian Tom, Varghese Anitha
Department of Chemistry, Christ University, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560029, India.
Centre for Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability, Christ University, Karnataka, 560 029, India.
Top Curr Chem (Cham). 2025 Sep 15;383(4):41. doi: 10.1007/s41061-025-00521-z.
The present energy-intensive and feedstock-dependent Haber-Bosch (H-B) process is being replaced with an electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (E-NRR) to produce ammonia (NH), powered by renewable electricity. The main obstacles to the NRR are the integral inertness of the N molecule and competition from the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Although transition metal-based electrocatalysts can overcome the kinetic restriction of N≡N activation via the back-donation method, the d-orbital electrons of transition metal atoms promote the creation of a metal-H bond, which increases the undesired HER. The electrocatalytic NRR activity has increased in recent years owing to carbon-based materials with easily tunable electrical structures. As a result, it is essential to evaluate the latest advances in theoretical and experimental aspects of carbon-based catalysts (CBCs) for NRR. This review focuses on the use of various CBCs and the modifications done to them for their effective use in the E-NRR, providing a comprehensive understanding of the use of CBCs for the E-NRR and aids further research in the field with the aim of making the E-NRR more efficient.
当前依赖能源和原料的哈伯-博施（H-B）工艺正被电化学氮还原反应（E-NRR）所取代，该反应由可再生电力驱动，用于生产氨（NH₃）。氮还原反应的主要障碍是N₂分子的固有惰性以及析氢反应（HER）的竞争。尽管基于过渡金属的电催化剂可以通过反馈捐赠方法克服N≡N活化的动力学限制，但过渡金属原子的d轨道电子会促进金属-氢键的形成，从而增加了不希望发生的析氢反应。近年来，由于具有易于调节的电子结构的碳基材料，电催化氮还原反应的活性有所提高。因此，评估用于氮还原反应的碳基催化剂（CBCs）在理论和实验方面的最新进展至关重要。本综述重点关注各种碳基催化剂的使用以及为使其在电化学氮还原反应中有效使用而对其进行的改性，全面了解碳基催化剂在电化学氮还原反应中的应用，并有助于该领域的进一步研究，以使电化学氮还原反应更高效。
