Project description DEENESFRITPL Nitrogen reduction reaction for achieving sustainable ammonia synthesis Ammonia is an important chemical for producing fertilisers. Electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) is attracting attention as a promising alternative for achieving green and sustainable ammonia synthesis. With this in mind, the EU-funded MOFAmmonia project will explore how NRR can fulfil its potential role in the world’s energy economy landscape. Specifically, it will combine materials science, electrocatalysis and photo-electrochemistry to develop a new concept to combine the virtues of both pristine and converted metal–organic framework (MOF)-based materials. For instance, the team will develop new, controllable synthetic pathways for the conversion of MOFs into porous, highly active NRR electrocatalysts, with tuned chemical composition, electronic and catalytic properties. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Electrocatalytic N2 reduction reaction (NRR) stands as one of the most promising green alternatives to achieve clean, carbon-free and sustainable NH3 production, solving the globe’s future production of food and feed-stock chemicals, and serve as practical carrier of sustainable energy. Up to now, the NRR field has been dominated mostly by noble metals, transition metals and their corresponding oxides, carbides, nitrides and sulfides, and metal-free materials. Despite the significant progress in this field, NRR electrocatalysts exhibiting both high activity and selectivity do not exist today and novel materials are still much sought after. Thus, the development of suitable catalytic materials will be a game changer, allowing NRR to fulfil its role in the globe’s energy-economy landscape. The project’s aim is to develop a new concept to combine the virtues of both pristine and converted Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) based materials, forming a new strategy to overcome the activity and selectivity limitations of currently-explored NRR electrocatalytic systems. Specifically, we will (1) develop new, controllable synthetic pathways for the conversion of MOFs into porous, highly active NRR electrocatalysts, with tuned chemical composition, electronic, and catalytic properties, (2) design pristine MOF-based ion-gating layers to precisely regulate the flux of protons toward the underlying catalytically-active site, and thus suppress the competing HER process and boost NH3 faradaic efficiency, (3) combine the two previous strategies to construct and analyze a full NRR system for simultaneous activity and selectivity enhancement.This proposal is highly multidisciplinary, combining materials science, electrocatalysis and photo-electrochemistry. It has the potential to significantly accelerate the development of applications in renewable-energy, e.g. solar cells, light-emitting diodes, heterogeneous catalysts, batteries, water electrolyzers, fuel cells, and sensing devices. Fields of science engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energynatural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistryinorganic compoundsnatural scienceschemical sciencescatalysiselectrocatalysisengineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsfuel cells Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2020-STG - ERC STARTING GRANTS Call for proposal ERC-2020-STG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-STG - Starting Grant Coordinator BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEV Net EU contribution € 1 500 000,00 Address . 84105 Beer sheva Israel See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEV Israel Net EU contribution € 1 500 000,00 Address . 84105 Beer sheva See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00
