Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Reverse Microemulsion-mediated Synthesis of Monometallic and Bimetallic Early Transition Metal Carbide and Nitride Nanoparticles
Published on: November 27, 2015
Bulk phase behavior of lithium imide-metal nitride ammonia decomposition catalysts
Joshua W Makepeace1, Thomas J Wood, Phillip L Marks
1Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QR, UK. josh.makepeace@chem.ox.ac.uk bill.david@stfc.ac.uk.
Abstract:
Lithium imide is a promising new catalyst for the production of hydrogen from ammonia. Its catalytic activity has been reported to be significantly enhanced through its use as a composite with various transition metal nitrides. In this work, two of these composite catalysts (with manganese nitride and iron nitride) were examined using in situ neutron and X-ray powder diffraction experiments in order to explore the bulk phases present during ammonia decomposition. Under such conditions, the iron composite was found to be a mixture of lithium imide and iron metal, while the manganese composite contained lithium imide and manganese nitride at low temperatures, and a mixture of lithium imide and two ternary lithium-manganese nitrides (LixMn2-xN and a small proportion of Li7MnN4) at higher temperatures. The results indicate that the bulk formation of a ternary nitride is not necessary for ammonia decomposition in lithium imide-transition metal catalyst systems.
Related Concept Videos
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Synthesis and Decomposition Reactions
Alkali Metals
Table 1: Properties of the alkali metals
Phase Transitions
Bonding in Metals
Metallic Solids
All metallic solids exhibit high thermal and electrical conductivity, metallic luster, and malleability....

