Accelerating lithium-mediated nitrogen reduction through an integrated palladium membrane hydrogenation reactor

H Hossein Bemana H Hendrik Schumann M Morgan McKee (Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Str. 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany) S Senada Nozinovic (Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Str. 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany) J Jörg Daniels (Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Str. 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany) R Ralf Weisbarth (Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Str. 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany) N Nikolay Kornienko (Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Str. 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany)

Abstract

Abstract Lithium-mediated N2 reduction reaction (LiNRR) is regarded as the most robust route towards electrifying NH3 synthesis. However, in this reaction geometry, hydrogen atoms typically supplied through electrolyte degradation, via H2 oxidation or a combination of both, hampering the efficiency of the process. In this work we provide an alternative H-source by merging a Pd Membrane reactor (PMR) with a LiNRR reactor in a unique dual-reactor setup. Specifically, use a Pd membrane that extracts H atoms directly from H2O and transfers them across the membrane to an electrodeposited Li layer operating under non-aqueous LiNRR conditions. We show that these H2O-derived H-atoms are used directly to synthesize NH3 in the presence of N2 and electrodeposited Li, thereby opening orthogonal reaction pathways within the metal-mediated nitrogen reduction concept.

Article Details

Volume / Issue Vol. 16, Issue 1
Published July 28, 2025
ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher Nature Portfolio

Journal Info

Nature Communications

Nature Portfolio

ISSN: 2041-1723 Open Access Life Sciences

Authors (7)

H

Hossein Bemana

H

Hendrik Schumann

M

Morgan McKee

Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Str. 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany

S

Senada Nozinovic

Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Str. 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany

J

Jörg Daniels

Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Str. 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany

R

Ralf Weisbarth

Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Str. 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany

N

Nikolay Kornienko

Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Str. 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany