In Operando Investigations of high performance Lithium Mediated Ammonia Synthesis

In the Li-mediated ammonia synthesis (LiMeAS), Li plated electrochemically from an organic electrolyte reacts with N2 forming Li-N species, which are protonated, yielding ammonia (NH3). A solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is formed from reactions of the electrolyte with Li. The SEI is essential in regulating transport of reactants to the electrode to mitigate the competing hydrogen evolution reaction. Previous synchrotron experiments yielded valuable insights into the SEI. However, due to the cell used low amounts of NH3 were produced, hindering the detection of intermediate species. We propose further experiments, under more scalable conditions using a cell that allows for higher NH3 production by flowing the electrolyte. The inclusion of new diglyme based electrolytes and a PtAu catalyst on a gas diffusion counter electrode with H2 limits electrolyte decomposition. Further advancements in the LiMeAS field such as pulsed deposition and different proton shuttles will also be included.