Ternary ruthenium complex hydrides for ammonia synthesis via the associative mechanism

Ammonia is the feedstock for nitrogen fertilizers and a potential carbon-free energy carrier; however, its production highly intensive. Conventional heterogeneous catalysts based on metallic iron or ruthenium mediate dinitrogen dissociation hydrogenation through relatively energy-expensive pathway. Here we report ternary complex hydrides Li4RuH6 Ba2RuH6 as an alternative class of catalysts, composed electron- hydrogen-rich [RuH6] anionic centres, non-dissociative reduction, where hydridic hydrogen transports electrons protons between Li/Ba cations stabilize NxHy (x = 0–2, y 0–3) intermediates. The dynamic synergistic involvement all components facilitates associative reaction mechanism with narrow span perfectly balanced kinetic barriers multistep process, leading to ammonia from N2 + H2 superior kinetics under mild conditions. synthesis traditional features high energetic span. Here, authors introduce lithium barium that can activate via lower-energy path, resulting in efficient milder