Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Synthesis and Performance Characterizations of Transition Metal Single Atom Catalyst for Electrochemical CO2 Reduction
Published on: April 10, 2018
N2 emission in NO and N2O reduction on Rh(100) and Rh(110)
1Catalysis Research Center, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. tatmatsu@cat.hokudai.ac.jp
Abstract:
The angular distribution of desorbing N(2) was studied in both the thermal decomposition of N(2)O(a) on Rh(100) at 60-140 K and the steady-state NO (or N(2)O) + D(2) reaction on Rh(100) and Rh(110) at 280-900 K. In the former, N(2) desorption shows two peaks at around 85 and 110 K. At low N(2)O coverage, the desorption at 85 K collimates at about 66 degrees off normal towards the [001] direction, whereas at high coverage, it sharply collimates along the surface normal. In the NO reduction on Rh(100), the N(2) desorption preferentially collimates at around 71 degrees off normal towards the [001] direction below about 700 K, whereas it collimates predominantly along the surface normal at higher temperatures. At lower temperatures, the surface nitrogen removal in the NO reduction is due to the process of NO(a) + N(a) --> N(2)O(a) --> N(2)(g) + O(a). On the other hand, in the steady-state N(2)O + D(2) reaction on Rh(110), the N(2) desorption collimates closely along the [001] direction (close to the surface parallel) below 340 K and shifts to ca. 65 degrees off normal at higher temperatures. In the reduction with CO, the N(2) desorption collimates along around 65 degrees off normal towards the [001] direction above 520 K, and shifts to 45 degrees at 445 K with decreasing surface temperature. It is proposed that N(2)O is oriented along the [001] direction on both surfaces before dissociation and the emitted N(2) is not scattered by adsorbed hydrogen.
Related Concept Videos
Nitriles to Amines: LiAlH4 Reduction
As shown below, the mechanism involves three steps. Firstly, the hydride ion acting as a nucleophile attacks the nitrile carbon to form an anion. In the second step, a second equivalent of the hydride ion attacks the anion to...
Preparation of Amines: Reduction of Oximes and Nitro Compounds
Though catalytic hydrogenation can reduce nitrobenzenes, the reduction is nonselective in the presence of other functional groups. For instance, if nitrobenzene contains an aldehyde group,...
Preparation of Amines: Reduction of Amides and Nitriles
Amides can be reduced to primary, secondary, and tertiary amines using catalytic hydrogenation, active metals like Fe,...
Alcohols from Carbonyl Compounds: Reduction
Catalytic hydrogenation is similar to the reduction of an alkene or alkyne by adding H2 across the pi bond in the presence of transition metal catalysts like Raney Ni, Pd–C, Pt, or Ru. Aldehydes and ketones can be reduced by this method, often under mild to moderate heat (25–100°C) and...
Reduction of Alkenes: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Metals like palladium, platinum, and nickel are commonly used in their solid forms — fine powder on an inert surface. As these catalysts remain insoluble in the reaction mixture, they are referred to as heterogeneous catalysts.
The hydrogenation process takes place on the surface of...
Reduction of Alkenes: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydrogenation
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...

