Abstract
Nitrogen is fundamental to all of life and many industrial processes. The interchange of nitrogen oxidation states in the industrial production of ammonia, nitric acid, and other commodity chemicals is largely powered by fossil fuels. A key goal of contemporary research in the field of nitrogen chemistry is to minimize the use of fossil fuels by developing more efficient heterogeneous, homogeneous, photo-, and electrocatalytic processes or by adapting the enzymatic processes underlying the natural nitrogen cycle. These approaches, as well as the challenges involved, are discussed in this Review.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | eaar6611 |
| Journal | Science |
| Volume | 360 |
| Issue number | 6391 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 25 2018 |
Funding
This article evolved from presentations and discussions at the workshop “Frontiers, Opportunities, and Challenges in Biochemical and Chemical N2 Activation” held in October 2016 in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The workshop was sponsored by the Council on Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences. The authors thank the members of the Council for their encouragement and assistance in developing this workshop. In addition, the authors are indebted to the agencies responsible for funding their individual research efforts, without which this article would not have been possible.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General