As the most abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere, nitrogen has been an attractive option as a source of renewable energy.

But nitrogen gas—which consists of two nitrogen atoms held together by a strong, triple covalent bond—doesn’t break apart under normal conditions, presenting a challenge to scientists who want to transfer the chemical energy of the bond into electricity.

In the journal Chem on April 13, researchers in China present one approach to capturing atmospheric nitrogen that can be used in a battery.

The “proof-of-concept” design works by reversing the chemical reaction that powers existing lithium-nitrogen batteries.

Instead of generating energy from the breakdown of lithium nitride (2Li3N) into lithium and nitrogen gas, the researchers’ battery prototype runs on atmospheric nitrogen in ambient conditions and reacts with lithium to form lithium nitride. Its energy output is brief but comparable to that of other lithium-metal batteries.

 

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Image Credit:      Zhang et. al

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