Exploring nitrogen electrochemistry at elevated temperatures (Ref: CM/IMP-SF1/2026)

About the Project

A huge amount of nitrogen fixation to ammonia-based fertiliser is required annually to maintain global food supply; it is estimated that artificial fixation accounts for 50% of the terrestrial nitrogen cycle. Current synthesis routes use high temperature and pressure, with hydrocarbon feedstocks providing the required energy and hydrogen. This consumes 2% of global energy production and accounts for 1% of all human CO2 emissions. It also couples food security into energy security, with all the resulting geopolitical uncertainity that involves. An efficient, electrically powered, carbon-free ammonia synthesis process is therefore urgently required. Such a process is also key in realising the vision of ammonia as a truly green hydrogen/energy vector.

The primary challenge in electrochemical ammonia synthesis is the low reactivity of nitrogen and the resulting competition from side reactions. This PhD project will seek to address this issue by working with combinations of high temperature electrolytes. These complimentary electrolytes operate at elevated, yet industrially relevant, temperatures ensuring rapid reaction rates, while allowing the spatial separation of the key nitrogen reduction and protonation steps. This will inhibit competing reactions while providing opportunities for tailoring catalytic surfaces for the two steps individually. Research will start with fundamental electrochemistry and progress to electrode and electrolyte preparation and reactor design for efficient catalysis, utilising recent advances in ceramic additive manufacturing (3D printing) as well as in ceramic synthesis.

This project will give the student training in a wide range of skills that are central to the green energy industry: electrochemistry, material science, modelling of electrochemical systems and data analysis. They will be joining a thriving, inclusive Chemistry department with excellent facilities for material synthesis and characterisation and a strong history of industrially applied electrochemistry. The project will be supervised by Dr Ian McPherson, an electrochemist with a wide ranging experience across the temperature and length scales of electrochemistry.

Loughborough University has an applied research culture. In REF 2021, 94% of the work submitted was judged to be top-rated as world-leading or internationally excellent. We are a community based on mutual support and collaboration. Through our Doctoral College there are continual opportunities for building important research skills and networks among your peers and research academics.