Synthesis of ammonia directly from wet air using Sm(0.6)Ba(0.4)Fe(0.8)Cu(0.2)O(3-δ) as the catalyst.

Ammonia was directly synthesised from wet air at 400 °C at atmospheric pressure. A new perovskite Sm(0.6)Ba(0.4)Fe(0.8)Cu(0.2)O(3-δ) was used as the electrocatalyst for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia. Ammonia formation rates of 9.19 × 10(-7) mol s(-1) m(-2) and 1.53 × 10(-6) mol s(-1) m(-2) were obtained at 400 °C when wet air and wet N2 were introduced into a simple single chamber reactor, respectively. The perovskite catalyst is low cost compared to the previously reported Ru/MgO and Pt/C catalysts. This experiment indicates that ammonia can be directly synthesised from wet air, a very promising simple technology for sustainable synthesis of ammonia in the future.