Advances in ruthenium catalysts for ammonia synthesis.

The traditional Haber-Bosch process for the ammonia synthesis suffers from high energy consumption and severe pollution. Therefore, developing a clean and green synthetic process has been the current research focus. Electrochemical reduction is such a method for nitrogen fixation and ammonia formation, with the core technology lying in how to improve the yield and current efficiency by using proper electrochemical catalysts. Based on literature analysis and summarization, a review was made in this paper on the advances in the ruthenium-based catalysts for the ammonia synthesis, including the synthesis mechanisms from different nitrogen sources, the preparation and modification of ruthenium-based catalysts and their performance. Influence of the catalyst morphology and size on the performance as well as the synergistic effects among ruthenium metal, support, and co-catalysts were also explored, with an aim to provide new perspectives for understanding the ruthenium catalytic process of electrochemical reduction synthesis of ammonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]