Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research (IC&SR) , IIT Madras
Electrochemical Fixation and Conversion of Nitrogen into Ammonia by ZNMN2O4 Spinel Derived from Spent Battery
Categories for this Invention
Technology: Preparation of ZnMn2O4 through hydrothermal synthesis; Industry & Application: Material Science, Catalysts;
Market: The global zinc oxide market is projected at a CAGR of 5.7% during 2024-2030
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Problem Statement
- In instance, the development of efficient catalyst for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia is a great challenge because of the rate of ammonia formation and conversion efficiency is not satisfactory due to competing hydrogen evolution reaction.
- Various catalysts have been explored for electrochemical ammonia synthesis by NRR,
- but most of the reported catalyst suffers in the selectivity for NRR.
- Hence, there is a need to address the issues.
Technology
- Present invention describes a method of electrochemical fixation and conversion of nitrogen into ammonia by spinel ZnMn2O4 derived from spent primary zinc carbon batteries.
- Said method comprises a few steps explained hereinbelow:
Step 1
- preparing spinel ZnMn2O4 from primary battery waste by hydrothermal route;
Step 2
- preparing ZnMn2O4 ink by ultrasonically dispersing 10 mg of ZnMn2O4 from step
-  5 into a solution containing 1 mL of dimethylformamide (DMF) and 10μL of 1 wt.% PVDF binder;
Step 3:
- drop-casting the obtained ink from step (ii) onto polished glassy carbon electrode (GCE);
- Further, the derived ZnMn2O4 from primary battery waste acts as an electrocatalyst to increase the selectivity of the nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) to yield ammonia at low negative potential (<- 0.6 V) by suppressing the hydrogen evolution reaction.
- The spinel ZnMn2O4 derived from primary zinc carbon batteries prepared by a simple thermal route with calcination & filtration.
Key Features / Value Proposition
Technical Perspective:
- ZnMn2O4 derived from the primary battery waste divulged to be a promising electrocatalyst for NRR, achieving an NH3 yield rate of 13.5µg h-1 mgcat-1 and with conversion efficiency of ~ 51% at -0.5 V vs RHE.
- ZnMn2O4 electrocatalyst derived from spent zinc-carbon battery is highly active and selective for N2 fixation.
- Further, the residue collected by centrifugation is dried at ~80 °C for 16h. Later, it is calcinated at 400 ºC for 6h with a 20 heating/cooling rate of (5°/min) to obtain ZnMn2O4, wherein 570 µg/cm2 of ZnMn2O4 is coated on glassy carbon electrode.
- Obtained ZnMn2O4 are mesoporous in structure.
- Catalyst employs a dissociative method to produce electrochemical ammonia by nitrogen reduction.
- ZnMn2O4 can effectively suppress the hydrogen evolution reaction to increase the selectivity of the NRR at low negative potential region (<-0.6 V).
Industrial Perspective:
- The proposed process is eco-friendly and provides efficient e-waste management by obtaining ZnMn2O4 derived from the primary battery waste.
- Applicable in the field of Material Science.
Questions about this Technology?
Contact For Licensing
sm-marketing@imail.iitm.ac.in
ipoffice2@iitm.ac.in
Research Lab
Prof. KOTHANDARAMAN RAMANUJAM,
Department of Chemistry
Intellectual Property
IITM IDF Ref. 2211
Patent No:502600
Technology Readiness Level
TRL-4
Proof of concept tested in Lab;