Making ammonia from nitrogen and water microdroplets.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37036968.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.2301206120 and PMC identifier 10120050.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
Water (H<sub>2</sub>O) microdroplets are sprayed onto a magnetic iron oxide (Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>) and Nafion-coated graphite mesh using compressed N<sub>2</sub> or air as the nebulizing gas. The resulting splash of microdroplets enters a mass spectrometer and is found to contain ammonia (NH<sub>3</sub>). This gas-liquid-solid heterogeneous catalytic system synthesizes ammonia in 0.2 ms. The conversion rate reaches 32.9 ± 1.38 nmol s<sup>-1</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup> at room temperature without application of an external electric potential and without irradiation. Water microdroplets are the hydrogen source for N<sub>2</sub> in contact with Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>. Hydrazine (H<sub>2</sub>NNH<sub>2</sub>) is also observed as a by-product and is suspected to be an intermediate in the formation of ammonia. This one-step nitrogen-fixation strategy to produce ammonia is eco-friendly and low cost, which converts widely available starting materials into a value-added product.