Patent ID: 11885029
Assignee: GEORGIA TECH RESEARCH CORPORATION
Field: Surface technology, coating (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC C | IPC C

Claim 11:
12. A system comprising:
an anode configured for an anodic reaction;
a cathode configured for a cathodic reaction, the cathode independent from the anode while in electrical communication with the anode;
an ion exchange membrane separating the anode and the cathode;
a catalyst material comprising hollow nanoparticles disposed on the cathode;
a voltage supply configured to supply from 0.1 V to 1 V across the anode and the cathode;
a nitrogen source; and
an electrolyte selected from the group consisting of a non-aqueous electrolyte and a solid electrolyte configured to transport ions between the anode and the cathode;
wherein protons produced at the anode transport across the ion exchange membrane to the cathode where a nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) occurs at the catalyst material disposed on the cathode to form a nitrogen-based compound;
wherein the catalyst material comprises a combination of semiconductor nanoparticles and hollow gold nano-cages (AuHNCs); and
wherein an interior cavity of at least a portion of the nanoparticles has a cross-sectional dimension from 5 nm to 100 nm, the nanoparticles selected from the group consisting of the semiconductor nanoparticles, the AuHNCs, and a combination thereof.