Abstract
Ammonia formation remains critically important for many aspects of society. Its primary use is in fertilisers, where its addition has allowed crops to be grown with less water and in smaller areas. Without this synthetic ammonia production, the world’s population could not be sustained. Synthetic ammonia could also play a large role in hydrogen storage as the hydrogen economy continues to grow. The Haber–Bosch process, currently supplying the demand for ammonia, is terribly inefficient–emitting 1% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gases. An alternative production method is therefore needed. This project will studied molecular nitrogen’s electrochemical reduction pathway to ammonia, considering the thermodynamic and kinetic barriers present. In future, an electrochemical cell will be build, applying principles discovered in silico in this study.