Warm Plasma Catalysis Enables Rapidly Switchable, Near-Complete Ammonia Cracking for On-Demand Hydrogen Production
- 1Zhejiang University , , ,
- 2Xi’an Jiaotong University , , ,
Abstract
Ammonia offers a carbon-free route for hydrogen storage and transport, but decentralized hydrogen supply requires efficient and rapidly responsive cracking technologies. Here, we integrate a warm plasma with Co/MgO–La catalyst to enable ammonia-to-hydrogen conversion without external catalyst heating. At a pure NH3 flow rate of 4 L min–1, the system achieves 99.5% conversion and reaches near-complete conversion within only 6 min after ignition, demonstrating rapid response characteristics, reproducible on–off cycling, and the potential for flexible operation under dynamic electrical inputs. Spatially resolved kinetic analysis and in situ intermediate detection reveal a plasma–thermal–catalytic relay, in which warm plasma generates NHx/H species and localized thermal energy through electron-impact activation and H-radical-mediated thermochemistry, while the downstream catalyst completes the conversion of unreacted NH3 and intermediates. Techno-economic and life-cycle assessments further indicate process-level advantages for this route. This work provides a rapidly switchable platform for distributed and on-demand hydrogen production from ammonia.
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BibTeX
@article{shi2026warm,
title = {{Warm Plasma Catalysis Enables Rapidly Switchable, Near-Complete Ammonia Cracking for On-Demand Hydrogen Production}},
author = {Xinfei Shi and Siyi Bao and Yanhui Long and Zijiang Zhao and Geyuan Yin and Xiaodong Li and Erjiang Hu and Jianhua Yan and Hao Zhang},
journal = {JACS Au},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1021/jacsau.6c01315},
url = {https://pubs.acs.org/jaaucr/article/doi/10.1021/jacsau.6c01315/5455838/Warm-Plasma-Catalysis-Enables-Rapidly-Switchable},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Warm Plasma Catalysis Enables Rapidly Switchable, Near-Complete Ammonia Cracking for On-Demand Hydrogen Production
AU - Xinfei Shi
AU - Siyi Bao
AU - Yanhui Long
AU - Zijiang Zhao
AU - Geyuan Yin
AU - Xiaodong Li
AU - Erjiang Hu
AU - Jianhua Yan
AU - Hao Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
JO - JACS Au
DO - 10.1021/jacsau.6c01315
UR - https://pubs.acs.org/jaaucr/article/doi/10.1021/jacsau.6c01315/5455838/Warm-Plasma-Catalysis-Enables-Rapidly-Switchable
AB - Ammonia offers a carbon-free route for hydrogen storage and transport, but decentralized hydrogen supply requires efficient and rapidly responsive cracking technologies. Here, we integrate a warm plasma with Co/MgO–La catalyst to enable ammonia-to-hydrogen conversion without external catalyst heating. At a pure NH3 flow rate of 4 L min–1, the system achieves 99.5% conversion and reaches near-complete conversion within only 6 min after ignition, demonstrating rapid response characteristics, reproducible on–off cycling, and the potential for flexible operation under dynamic electrical inputs. Spatially resolved kinetic analysis and in situ intermediate detection reveal a plasma–thermal–catalytic relay, in which warm plasma generates NHx/H species and localized thermal energy through electron-impact activation and H-radical-mediated thermochemistry, while the downstream catalyst completes the conversion of unreacted NH3 and intermediates. Techno-economic and life-cycle assessments further indicate process-level advantages for this route. This work provides a rapidly switchable platform for distributed and on-demand hydrogen production from ammonia.
SN - 2691-3704
ER -