Inert nitrogen forced to react with itself
Imitating nature, humans use the all-important Haber-Bosch process to break down nitrogen into ammonia, which can then be further processed to produce fertilizers and to make nitrogen available for the production of pigments, fuels, materials, pharmaceuticals and beyond. The production of compounds that contain chains of two, three or four nitrogen atoms -- which are notably of pharmaceutical importance in vaso-dilating drugs, for example -- requires the reassembly of mono-nitrogen molecules such as ammonia, because no direct reaction exists that can directly connect molecules of dinitrogen.
This week, research teams from Germany, from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) and Goethe University in Frankfurt, report a completely new chemical reaction in Science magazine. The new process uses boron-containing molecules to directly couple two molecules of N2 into a N4 chain. For the first time, they have succeeded in directly coupling two molecules of atmospheric nitrogen N2 with each other without first having to split the dinitrogen into ammonia, thus bypassing the Haber-Bosch process. This new method could enable the direct generation of longer nitrogen chains.
The new synthesis pathway functions under very mild conditions: at minus 30 degrees Celsius and under a moderate pressure of nitrogen (around four atmospheres). It also does not require a transition metal catalyst, unlike almost all biological and industrial reactions of nitrogen.
"This will open the way to a chemistry with which completely new chain-form nitrogen molecules can be synthesized," says JMU chemistry Professor Holger Braunschweig. For the first time, nitrogen chains containing a special variant of nitrogen (15N isotope) can also be easily produced.
The reductive coupling of dinitrogen (DOI: 10.1126/science.aav9593) (DX)
(Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Thursday March 28 2019, @02:02AM (3 children)
Atmosphere is 50% denser than Earth, comprised largely of nitrogen and methane.
Sadly it is awfully cold for this with an average surface temperature of −179 °C
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 4, Funny) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday March 28 2019, @02:17AM (2 children)
That's about the same as Canada I think.
Just put a coat on, you'll be fine.
(Score: 3, Funny) by c0lo on Thursday March 28 2019, @02:47AM (1 child)
Except for a pressure 4 times the atmospheric one.
Not to worry, just search Canada for a liquid methane lake about 60m deep and get some scientists down with an extra coat on.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday March 28 2019, @07:01PM
They've got a lot of lakes in Canada, so I've heard. At least one must be liquid methane, surely? Law of averages.
(Score: 4, Informative) by c0lo on Thursday March 28 2019, @03:13AM
From TFAbs(tract)
Noice.
Wonder what happens when you bring them at room temp/pressure? 'cause I'm not gonna take a vaso-dilating pill frozen to -30C only to see my belly exploding.
See also Things I Won’t Work With: Azidoazide Azides, More Or Less [sciencemag.org]
Those crazy Germans.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by stormwyrm on Thursday March 28 2019, @07:52AM (1 child)
Numquam ponenda est pluralitas sine necessitate.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by richtopia on Thursday March 28 2019, @04:21PM
It will come down to the energy required. If this new pathway takes less energy, there could be serious savings. The world spends a LOT on making ammonia: approximately 3-5% of natural gas is consumed on the Haber process, which is about 1-2% of the total energy supply. Yes, boron is expensive, but at the production volumes we could be looking at mining boron could be justified.
(Score: 2) by SemperOSS on Thursday March 28 2019, @08:44AM (2 children)
I wonder where the hydrogen comes from when you break down N2 into NH3?
Open Source Solutions and Digital Sovereignty is the new black
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 28 2019, @03:50PM
Hydrogen gas is one of the reagents used in the Haber process.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 29 2019, @12:00PM
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday March 28 2019, @03:40PM (1 child)
. . . will not result in cheaper drugs.
Quite the contrary.
Why is it so difficult to break a heroine addiction?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 28 2019, @10:31PM
We can settle for better drugs, and order them from India.