1. Making ammonia from nitrogen and water microdroplets.
- Author
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Xiaowei Song, Basheer, Chanbasha, and Zare, Richard N.
- Subjects
NITROGEN in water ,MICRODROPLETS ,AMMONIA ,FERRIC oxide ,ELECTRIC potential ,CARBON paper - Abstract
Water (H
2 O) microdroplets are sprayed onto a magnetic iron oxide (Fe3 O4 ) and Nafion-coated graphite mesh using compressed N2 or air as the nebulizing gas. The resulting splash of microdroplets enters a mass spectrometer and is found to contain ammonia (NH3 ). This gas–liquid–solid heterogeneous catalytic system synthesizes ammonia in 0.2 ms. The conversion rate reaches 32.9 ± 1.38 nmol s−1 cm−2 at room temperature without application of an external electric potential and without irradiation. Water microdroplets are the hydrogen source for N2 in contact with Fe3 O4 . Hydrazine (H2 NNH2 ) 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2023
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