Hydrogen peroxide driven dinitrogen reduction to ammonia

Abstract

Herein, a simpler process for ammonia (NH₃) synthesis from dinitrogen (N₂) using H₂O₂ and iron filings (f-Fe) under mild thermal conditions is described. Based on varying several reaction parameters and optimization studies, a maximum ∼40 mM yield of NH₃ was achieved in a batch reactor. A plausible mechanism has been proposed based on a radical scavenging study and post-reaction analysis of spent f-Fe by powder X-ray diffraction (pXRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis.