Nitrogen photoreduction on desert sands under sterile conditions
G N Schrauzer1, N Strampach, L N Hui
1Department of Chemistry, Revelle College, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093.
Abstract:
Sands from various geographic locations reduce N(2) from the air to NH(3) and traces of N(2)H(4) on exposure to sunlight. This N(2) photofixation occurs under sterile conditions on the surface of finely dispersed titanium minerals such as rutile, utilizing reducing equivalents generated through the photolysis of chemisorbed H(2)O. Abiological N(2) photofixation is suggested to be part of the nitrogen cycle in arid and semiarid regions. It is estimated that about 10 x 10(5) tons of N(2) is photoreduced on the total surface of the earth's deserts per year.
Related Concept Videos
Anoxygenic Photosynthesis
Photosystem I
Both these photosystems work in concert. An excited electron from PSII is relayed to PSI via an electron transport chain in the thylakoid membrane of the chloroplast, which is comprised of the carrier molecule plastoquinone, the dual-protein cytochrome complex, and plastocyanin. As electrons move between PSII and PSI, they lose energy and must be re-energized...
Inorganic Nitrogen Assimilation
The Z-Scheme of Electron Transport in Photosynthesis
Overview of Nitrogen Metabolism
The largest pool of nitrogen available in the terrestrial ecosystem is gaseous nitrogen (N2) from the air, but this nitrogen...


