Producing ammonia more sustainably has become a central challenge for both chemical engineering and global food systems. Ammonia underpins modern agriculture, yet its conventional production through the Haber–Bosch process consumes large amounts of energy and contributes significantly to global carbon emissions. A research team at Texas A&M University is now proposing an alternative electrochemical pathway that could help decouple ammonia synthesis from fossil fuels.
The work is led by chemical engineering professors Abdoulaye Djire and Perla Balbuena, together with graduate researchers David Kumar and Hao En Lai. Their recent study focuses on an electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction that converts nitrogen from air and hydrogen from water into ammonia using renewable electricity. Instead of relying on external hydrogen sources or high pressure reactors, the system operates under comparatively mild conditions.
Yesudoss, D. K., Lai, H.-E., Johnson, D., Lee, M., Reinhart, B., Balbuena, P. B., & Djire, A. (2025). Lattice-Nitrogen-Mediated Chemistry Suppresses Hydrogen Evolution for Record Faradaic Efficiency in Ammonia Synthesis. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 147(32), 29327–29339. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c09104
At the center of the approach is a two-dimensional titanium nitride material known as MNene. Unlike traditional catalysts that attempt to weaken nitrogen’s triple bond directly on a metal surface, MNene incorporates nitrogen atoms into its own crystal lattice. During operation, some of this lattice nitrogen is converted into ammonia, leaving behind vacancies within the material. These vacancies then act as reactive sites where nitrogen from the air can bind, weaken, and eventually break apart, allowing the cycle to repeat.
Abdoulaye Djire from Texas A&M University stated,
“This process doesn’t rely on coal or natural gas to produce hydrogen. Instead, we use Earth-abundant resources like water and atmospheric nitrogen. This is essential for building a sustainable future, especially for food production.”
This mechanism, referred to as lattice nitrogen mediated ammonia synthesis, addresses one of the key limitations of electrochemical nitrogen reduction. In many systems, protons in the electrolyte preferentially combine with each other to form hydrogen gas, reducing ammonia yield. In the MNene system, lattice nitrogen at the material’s edges effectively traps protons, making ammonia formation thermodynamically more favorable than hydrogen evolution.
The research combines experimental electrochemistry with advanced spectroelectrochemical measurements, allowing the team to observe where reactions occur on the catalyst surface. These observations were paired with first principles simulations that model atomic scale behavior during nitrogen binding, vacancy formation, and bond breaking. Together, the experimental and theoretical results provide a coherent picture of how nitrogen activation proceeds on the MNene surface.
Beyond its fundamental chemistry, the work fits into a broader effort to rethink ammonia production as a distributed, electrically driven process. Electrochemical ammonia synthesis is being explored worldwide as a way to reduce emissions, integrate renewable energy, and potentially enable localized fertilizer production closer to where it is needed. By demonstrating high efficiency without relying on scarce metals or fossil based hydrogen, the MNene approach adds an important design strategy to this growing field.
While the current system remains at the laboratory scale, its implications extend beyond materials science. Ammonia sits at the intersection of energy, food security, and economic stability. Methods that allow it to be produced with lower emissions and simpler infrastructure could be particularly relevant for regions where centralized chemical plants are impractical.
The Texas A&M study does not replace existing industrial processes overnight, but it contributes a clearer understanding of how nonmetal components within catalysts can actively shape electrochemical reactions. As electrochemical ammonia synthesis continues to evolve, concepts like lattice nitrogen participation and proton trapping may play a growing role in bridging laboratory demonstrations and practical deployment.
Adrian graduated with a Masters Degree (1st Class Honours) in Chemical Engineering from Chester University along with Harris. His master’s research aimed to develop a standardadised clean water oxygenation transfer procedure to test bubble diffusers that are currently used in the wastewater industry commercial market. He has also undergone placments in both US and China primarely focused within the R&D department and is an associate member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).
