Abstract
The Haber-Bosch process for ammonia synthesis has been suggested to be the most important invention of the 20th century, and called the 'Bellwether reaction in heterogeneous catalysis'. We examine the catalyst requirements for a new low-pressure, low-temperature synthesis process. We show that the absence of such a process for conventional transition metal catalysts can be understood as a consequence of a scaling relation between the activation energy for N2 dissociation and N adsorption energy found at the surface of these materials. A better catalyst cannot obey this scaling relation. We define the ideal scaling relation characterizing the most active catalyst possible, and show that it is theoretically possible to have a low pressure, low-temperature Haber-Bosch process. The challenge is to find new classes of catalyst materials with properties approaching the ideal, and we discuss the possibility that transition metal compounds have such properties.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Chemical Physics Letters |
| Volume | 598 |
| Pages (from-to) | 108-112 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| ISSN | 0009-2614 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Cite this
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Exploring the limits : A low-pressure, low-temperature Haber-Bosch process. / Vojvodic, Aleksandra; Medford, Andrew James; Studt, Felix; Abild-Pedersen, Frank; Khan, Tuhin Suvra; Bligaard, T.; Nørskov, J. K.
In: Chemical Physics Letters, Vol. 598, 2014, p. 108-112.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring the limits
T2 - A low-pressure, low-temperature Haber-Bosch process
AU - Vojvodic, Aleksandra
AU - Medford, Andrew James
AU - Studt, Felix
AU - Abild-Pedersen, Frank
AU - Khan, Tuhin Suvra
AU - Bligaard, T.
AU - Nørskov, J. K.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - The Haber-Bosch process for ammonia synthesis has been suggested to be the most important invention of the 20th century, and called the 'Bellwether reaction in heterogeneous catalysis'. We examine the catalyst requirements for a new low-pressure, low-temperature synthesis process. We show that the absence of such a process for conventional transition metal catalysts can be understood as a consequence of a scaling relation between the activation energy for N2 dissociation and N adsorption energy found at the surface of these materials. A better catalyst cannot obey this scaling relation. We define the ideal scaling relation characterizing the most active catalyst possible, and show that it is theoretically possible to have a low pressure, low-temperature Haber-Bosch process. The challenge is to find new classes of catalyst materials with properties approaching the ideal, and we discuss the possibility that transition metal compounds have such properties.
AB - The Haber-Bosch process for ammonia synthesis has been suggested to be the most important invention of the 20th century, and called the 'Bellwether reaction in heterogeneous catalysis'. We examine the catalyst requirements for a new low-pressure, low-temperature synthesis process. We show that the absence of such a process for conventional transition metal catalysts can be understood as a consequence of a scaling relation between the activation energy for N2 dissociation and N adsorption energy found at the surface of these materials. A better catalyst cannot obey this scaling relation. We define the ideal scaling relation characterizing the most active catalyst possible, and show that it is theoretically possible to have a low pressure, low-temperature Haber-Bosch process. The challenge is to find new classes of catalyst materials with properties approaching the ideal, and we discuss the possibility that transition metal compounds have such properties.
U2 - 10.1016/j.cplett.2014.03.003
DO - 10.1016/j.cplett.2014.03.003
M3 - Journal article
VL - 598
SP - 108
EP - 112
JO - Chemical Physics Letters
JF - Chemical Physics Letters
SN - 0009-2614
ER -