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Liao W, Liu K, Wang J, Stefancu A, Chen Q, Wu K, Zhou Y, Li H, Mei L, Li M, Fu J, Miyauchi M, Cortés E, Liu M. Boosting Nitrogen Activation via Ag Nanoneedle Arrays for Efficient Ammonia Synthesis. ACS NANO 2023; 17:411-420. [PMID: 36524975 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c08853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Electrocatalytic N2 reduction reaction (eNRR) provides a promising carbon-neutral and sustainable ammonia-synthesizing alternative to the Haber-Bosch process. However, the nonpolar N2 has significant thermodynamic stability and requires ultrahigh energy to break down the N≡N bond. Here, we report the construction of local enhanced electric fields (LEEFs) by Ag nanoneedle arrays to promote N≡N fracture thus assisting the eNRR. The LEEFs could induce charge polarization on nitrogen atoms and reduce the energy barrier in the N2 first-protonation step. The detected N─N and N─H intermediates prove the cleavage of the N≡N bond and the hydrogenation of N2 by LEEFs. The increased LEEFs lead to logarithmic growth rates for the targeted eNRR and exponential growth rates for the unavoidable competitive hydrogen evolution reaction. Thus, regulation and tuning of LEEFs to ∼4 × 104 kV m-1 endows the raise of eNRR to the summit, achieving high ammonia selectivity with a Faradaic efficiency of 72.3 ± 4.0%.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanru Liao
- Hunan Joint International Research Center for Carbon Dioxide Resource Utilization, State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha410083, Hunan, P. R. China
| | - Kang Liu
- Hunan Joint International Research Center for Carbon Dioxide Resource Utilization, State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha410083, Hunan, P. R. China
| | - Jun Wang
- Hunan Joint International Research Center for Carbon Dioxide Resource Utilization, State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha410083, Hunan, P. R. China
| | - Andrei Stefancu
- Nanoinstitut München, Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München80539, Germany
| | - Qin Chen
- Hunan Joint International Research Center for Carbon Dioxide Resource Utilization, State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha410083, Hunan, P. R. China
| | - Kuangzhe Wu
- Hunan Joint International Research Center for Carbon Dioxide Resource Utilization, State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha410083, Hunan, P. R. China
| | - Yajiao Zhou
- Hunan Joint International Research Center for Carbon Dioxide Resource Utilization, State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha410083, Hunan, P. R. China
| | - Hongmei Li
- Hunan Joint International Research Center for Carbon Dioxide Resource Utilization, State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha410083, Hunan, P. R. China
| | - Lin Mei
- State Key Laboratory for Powder Metallurgy, Central South University, Changsha410083, Hunan, P. R. China
| | - Ming Li
- College of Science & Ministry-province jointly constructed Cultivation Base for State Key Laboratory of Processing for Mom-ferrous Metal and Featured Materials & Key Lab. of Nonferrous Materials and New Processing Technology, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin541004, P. R. China
| | - Junwei Fu
- Hunan Joint International Research Center for Carbon Dioxide Resource Utilization, State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha410083, Hunan, P. R. China
| | - Masahiro Miyauchi
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo152-8552, Japan
| | - Emiliano Cortés
- Nanoinstitut München, Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München80539, Germany
| | - Min Liu
- Hunan Joint International Research Center for Carbon Dioxide Resource Utilization, State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha410083, Hunan, P. R. China
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Neubert T, Chanrion O, Heumesser M, Dimitriadou K, Husbjerg L, Rasmussen IL, Østgaard N, Reglero V. Observation of the onset of a blue jet into the stratosphere. Nature 2021; 589:371-375. [PMID: 33473225 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-03122-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Blue jets are lightning-like, atmospheric electric discharges of several hundred millisecond duration that fan into cones as they propagate from the top of thunderclouds into the stratosphere1. They are thought to initiate in an electric breakdown between the positively charged upper region of a cloud and a layer of negative charge at the cloud boundary and in the air above. The breakdown forms a leader that transitions into streamers2 when propagating upwards3. However, the properties of the leader, and the altitude to which it extends above the clouds, are not well characterized4. Blue millisecond flashes in cloud tops5,6 have previously been associated with narrow bipolar events7,8, which are 10- to 30-microsecond pulses in wideband electric field records, accompanied by bursts of intense radiation at 3 to 300 megahertz from discharges with short (inferred) channel lengths (less than one kilometre)9-11. Here we report spectral measurements from the International Space Station, which offers an unimpeded view of thunderclouds, with 10-microsecond temporal resolution. We observe five intense, approximately 10-microsecond blue flashes from a thunderstorm cell. One flash initiates a pulsating blue jet to the stratopause (the interface between the stratosphere and the ionosphere). The observed flashes were accompanied by 'elves'12 in the ionosphere. Emissions from lightning leaders in the red spectral band are faint and localized, suggesting that the flashes and the jet are streamer ionization waves, and that the leader elements at their origin are short and localized. We propose that the microsecond flashes are the optical equivalent of negative narrow bipolar events observed in radio waves. These are known to initiate lightning within the cloud and to the ground, and blue lightning into the stratosphere, as reported here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Torsten Neubert
- National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Space), Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - Olivier Chanrion
- National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Space), Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Matthias Heumesser
- National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Space), Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Krystallia Dimitriadou
- National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Space), Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Lasse Husbjerg
- National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Space), Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Ib Lundgaard Rasmussen
- National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Space), Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Nikolai Østgaard
- Birkeland Centre for Space Science, Department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Victor Reglero
- Image Processing Laboratory, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
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Rycroft MJ, Odzimek A. Effects of lightning and sprites on the ionospheric potential, and threshold effects on sprite initiation, obtained using an analog model of the global atmospheric electric circuit. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2009ja014758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M. J. Rycroft
- CAESAR Consultancy; Cambridge UK
- Centre for Space, Atmospheric and Oceanic Science; University of Bath; Bath UK
| | - A. Odzimek
- Department of Physics and Astronomy; University of Leicester; Leicester UK
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Inan US, Cummer SA, Marshall RA. A survey of ELF and VLF research on lightning-ionosphere interactions and causative discharges. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2009ja014775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- U. S. Inan
- STAR Laboratory; Stanford University; Stanford California USA
- Koç University; Istanbul Turkey
| | - S. A. Cummer
- Electrical and Computer Engineering Department; Duke University; Durham North Carolina USA
| | - R. A. Marshall
- STAR Laboratory; Stanford University; Stanford California USA
- Center for Space Physics; Boston University; Boston Massachusetts USA
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Marshall RA, Inan US, Glukhov VS. Elves and associated electron density changes due to cloud-to-ground and in-cloud lightning discharges. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2009ja014469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- R. A. Marshall
- Space, Telecommunications and Radioscience Laboratory; Stanford University; Stanford California USA
| | - U. S. Inan
- Space, Telecommunications and Radioscience Laboratory; Stanford University; Stanford California USA
| | - V. S. Glukhov
- Space, Telecommunications and Radioscience Laboratory; Stanford University; Stanford California USA
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Chen AB, Kuo CL, Lee YJ, Su HT, Hsu RR, Chern JL, Frey HU, Mende SB, Takahashi Y, Fukunishi H, Chang YS, Liu TY, Lee LC. Global distributions and occurrence rates of transient luminous events. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2008ja013101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 155] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alfred B. Chen
- Department of Physics; National Cheng Kung University; Tainan Taiwan
- Plasma and Space Science Center; National Cheng Kung University; Tainan Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Ling Kuo
- Department of Physics; National Cheng Kung University; Tainan Taiwan
- Institute of Space Science; National Central University; Jhongli Taiwan
| | - Yi-Jen Lee
- Department of Physics; National Cheng Kung University; Tainan Taiwan
| | - Han-Tzong Su
- Department of Physics; National Cheng Kung University; Tainan Taiwan
- Earth Dynamical System Research Center; National Cheng Kung University; Tainan Taiwan
| | - Rue-Ron Hsu
- Department of Physics; National Cheng Kung University; Tainan Taiwan
- Earth Dynamical System Research Center; National Cheng Kung University; Tainan Taiwan
| | - Jyh-Long Chern
- Department of Photonics; National Chiao Tung University; Hsinchu Taiwan
| | - Harald U. Frey
- Space Sciences Laboratory; University of California; Berkeley California USA
| | - Stephen B. Mende
- Space Sciences Laboratory; University of California; Berkeley California USA
| | | | | | | | - Tie-Yue Liu
- National Space Organization; HsinChu City, Hsinchu Taiwan
| | - Lou-Chuang Lee
- Institute of Space Science; National Central University; Jhongli Taiwan
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Cummer SA, Frey HU, Mende SB, Hsu RR, Su HT, Chen AB, Fukunishi H, Takahashi Y. Simultaneous radio and satellite optical measurements of high-altitude sprite current and lightning continuing current. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2006. [DOI: 10.1029/2006ja011809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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