Comparing Molecular Mechanisms in Solar NH3 Production and Relations with CO2 Reduction

Mallamace, Domenico; Papanikolaou, Georgia; Perathoner, Siglinda; Centi, Gabriele; Lanzafame, Paola

doi:10.3390/ijms22010139

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Comparing Molecular Mechanisms in Solar NH₃ Production and Relations with CO₂ Reduction

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Departments ChiBioFarAm and MIFT, University of Messina, ERIC aisbl, INSTM/CASPE, V. le F. Stagno D’Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy

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Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(1), 139; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22010139

Received: 6 December 2020 / Revised: 20 December 2020 / Accepted: 22 December 2020 / Published: 25 December 2020

(This article belongs to the Collection Feature Papers in Physical Chemistry and Chemical Physics)

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Abstract

Molecular mechanisms for N₂ fixation (solar NH₃) and CO₂ conversion to C2+ products in enzymatic conversion (nitrogenase), electrocatalysis, metal complexes and plasma catalysis are analyzed and compared. It is evidenced that differently from what is present in thermal and plasma catalysis, the electrocatalytic path requires not only the direct coordination and hydrogenation of undissociated N₂ molecules, but it is necessary to realize features present in the nitrogenase mechanism. There is the need for (i) a multi-electron and -proton simultaneous transfer, not as sequential steps, (ii) forming bridging metal hydride species, (iii) generating intermediates stabilized by bridging multiple metal atoms and (iv) the capability of the same sites to be effective both in N₂ fixation and in CO_x reduction to C2+ products. Only iron oxide/hydroxide stabilized at defective sites of nanocarbons was found to have these features. This comparison of the molecular mechanisms in solar NH₃ production and CO₂ reduction is proposed to be a source of inspiration to develop the next generation electrocatalysts to address the challenging transition to future sustainable energy and chemistry beyond fossil fuels. View Full-Text

Keywords: molecular mechanisms; N₂ fixation; NRR; CO₂-to-C2+; CO₂RR; electrocatalysis; bioinspired

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Mallamace, D.; Papanikolaou, G.; Perathoner, S.; Centi, G.; Lanzafame, P. Comparing Molecular Mechanisms in Solar NH₃ Production and Relations with CO₂ Reduction. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22, 139. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22010139

AMA Style

Mallamace D, Papanikolaou G, Perathoner S, Centi G, Lanzafame P. Comparing Molecular Mechanisms in Solar NH₃ Production and Relations with CO₂ Reduction. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021; 22(1):139. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22010139

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mallamace, Domenico, Georgia Papanikolaou, Siglinda Perathoner, Gabriele Centi, and Paola Lanzafame. 2021. "Comparing Molecular Mechanisms in Solar NH₃ Production and Relations with CO₂ Reduction" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22, no. 1: 139. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22010139

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Comparing Molecular Mechanisms in Solar NH₃ Production and Relations with CO₂ Reduction

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