Single‐atom catalysts for electrochemical N <sub>2</sub> reduction to NH <sub>3</sub>
Muhammad Saqlain Iqbal, Zhibo Yao, Yukun Ruan, Ramsha Iftikhar, Leiduan Hao, Alex W. Robertson, Syed Muhammad Imran, Zhenyu Sun
Abstract
Abstract The increasing demand for clean energy and growing concerns regarding environmental sustainability have led to greater attention devoted toward the production of clean fuels via green chemistry. In this respect, ammonia is a green alternative to fossil fuels and can serve as a clean energy source. There is now great interest in realizing the electrochemical reduction in atmospheric nitrogen (N 2 ) for cheap, environmentally friendly and reliable ammonia (NH 3 ) production worldwide. However, the robustness of the triple bond in N 2 and the low efficiency of candidate catalysts limit the utility of this conversion. Single atom catalysts have been found to be more effective than nanoparticles due to their unique properties, and thus have been studied extensively for the nitrogen reduction reaction. In this review, we have covered the recent advances in design and synthesis of noble metal and non‐noble metal single atom catalysts for the electrochemical reduction in nitrogen during the years 2018–2022. The catalyst efficiencies, with reference to coordination preferences and theoretical studies have been discussed. Moreover, we also provide insights into the current challenges and some considerations for further future studies.