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Related Concept Videos

Inorganic Nitrogen Assimilation01:22

Inorganic Nitrogen Assimilation

Nitrogen is an essential element in biological systems, forming a crucial component of proteins, nucleic acids, and other cellular constituents. Many bacteria and archaea acquire nitrogen in the form of nitrate (NO₃⁻) or ammonia (NH₃), which are then assimilated into biomolecules through specific enzymatic pathways.Assimilatory Nitrate ReductionWhen nitrate enters the cell, it undergoes a two-step reduction process known as assimilatory nitrate reduction. Initially, the enzyme nitrate reductase...
Preparation of Amines: Reduction of Amides and Nitriles01:13

Preparation of Amines: Reduction of Amides and Nitriles

Nitriles can be reduced to primary amines using reducing agents like lithium aluminum hydride or catalytic hydrogenation. The reduction introduces an amino group with an extra carbon in the skeleton. Nitriles are formed from the reaction between alkyl halides and sodium cyanide through the SN2 mechanism. Primary alkyl halides are the preferred substrates to prepare nitriles.
Amides can be reduced to primary, secondary, and tertiary amines using catalytic hydrogenation, active metals like Fe,...
Preparation of Amines: Reduction of Oximes and Nitro Compounds01:29

Preparation of Amines: Reduction of Oximes and Nitro Compounds

Oximes can be reduced to primary amines using catalytic hydrogenation, hydride reduction, or sodium metal reduction. The reduction of aliphatic and aromatic nitro compounds to primary amines takes place by either catalytic hydrogenation or by using active metals like Fe, Zn, and Sn in the presence of an acid.
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,...
Reduction of Alkynes to trans-Alkenes: Sodium in Liquid Ammonia02:10

Reduction of Alkynes to trans-Alkenes: Sodium in Liquid Ammonia

Alkynes can be reduced to trans-alkenes using sodium or lithium in liquid ammonia. The reaction, known as dissolving metal reduction, proceeds with an anti addition of hydrogen across the carbon–carbon triple bond to form the trans product. Since ammonia exists as a gas (bp = −33°C) at room temperature, the reaction is carried out at low temperatures using a mixture of dry ice (sublimes at −78°C) and acetone.
When dissolved in liquid ammonia, an alkali metal, such as sodium, dissociates into a...
Preparation of 1° Amines: Gabriel Synthesis01:28

Preparation of 1° Amines: Gabriel Synthesis

Direct alkylation is not a suitable method for synthesizing amines because it produces polyalkylated products. Gabriel synthesis is the most preferred method to exclusively make primary amines. The method uses phthalimide, which contains a protected form of nitrogen that participates in alkylation only once to predominantly give primary amines.
Strong bases like NaOH or KOH deprotonate the phthalimide to form the corresponding anion, which acts as a nucleophile. Further, the anion attacks an...
Preparation of Amines: Reductive Amination of Aldehydes and Ketones01:38

Preparation of Amines: Reductive Amination of Aldehydes and Ketones

Carbonyl compounds and primary amines undergo reductive amination first to produce imines, followed by secondary amines in the same reaction mixture, using selective reducing agents like sodium cyanoborohydride or sodium triacetoxyborohydride. Reductive amination produces different degrees of substitution of amines depending on the starting amine substrate.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Ammonia Synthesis at Low Pressure
08:14

Ammonia Synthesis at Low Pressure

Published on: August 23, 2017

Plasma-Electrocatalytic Nitrogen Reduction for Ammonia Synthesis.

Tianqi Zhang1, Rusen Zhou2, Jungmi Hong1

  • 1School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sydney, Darlington, NSW 2008, Australia.

Journal of the American Chemical Society
|July 7, 2026
PubMed
Summary

This study introduces a novel plasma-electrolysis system for efficient ammonia synthesis at room temperature. The method uses vibrationally excited nitrogen (N2) to overcome reaction barriers, achieving high production rates and selectivity.

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Electrochemically and Bioelectrochemically Induced Ammonium Recovery
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Electrochemically and Bioelectrochemically Induced Ammonium Recovery

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Measurement of the Potential Rates of Dissimilatory Nitrate Reduction to Ammonium Based on 14NH4+/15NH4+ Analyses via Sequential Conversion to N2O
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Measurement of the Potential Rates of Dissimilatory Nitrate Reduction to Ammonium Based on 14NH4+/15NH4+ Analyses via Sequential Conversion to N2O

Published on: October 7, 2020

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Last Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Ammonia Synthesis at Low Pressure
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Electrochemically and Bioelectrochemically Induced Ammonium Recovery
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Electrochemically and Bioelectrochemically Induced Ammonium Recovery

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Measurement of the Potential Rates of Dissimilatory Nitrate Reduction to Ammonium Based on 14NH4+/15NH4+ Analyses via Sequential Conversion to N2O
08:05

Measurement of the Potential Rates of Dissimilatory Nitrate Reduction to Ammonium Based on 14NH4+/15NH4+ Analyses via Sequential Conversion to N2O

Published on: October 7, 2020

Area of Science:

  • Electrochemistry
  • Plasma Science
  • Catalysis
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Electrochemical nitrogen reduction is hindered by nitrogen's inertness and competing hydrogen evolution.
  • Existing methods often require high temperatures and pressures, limiting distributed applications.
  • Novel approaches are needed to activate nitrogen under ambient conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop an integrated plasma-electrolysis system for ambient ammonia synthesis.
  • To investigate the role of vibrationally excited nitrogen in enhancing electrocatalytic performance.
  • To identify optimal catalysts for efficient and selective ammonia production.

Main Methods:

  • An integrated plasma-electrolysis membrane-electrode assembly was designed.
  • Nonthermal surface discharge plasma generated vibrationally excited N2 (N2(ν)).
  • Fourteen metal catalysts were screened, and experiments included isotopic labeling and computational modeling.

Main Results:

  • Silver (Ag) catalyst achieved an NH3 production rate of 7.7 ± 0.8 nmol s-1 cm-2 with 86 ± 14% Faradaic efficiency at -0.54 V vs RHE.
  • Ammonia formation was confirmed to require simultaneous plasma activation and electrochemical polarization.
  • Plasma-kinetic and transport modeling indicated effective vibrational temperatures of ~4300 K, with excited states reaching the catalyst.

Conclusions:

  • Vibrational-state engineering of N2 is a viable strategy for efficient electrocatalytic ammonia synthesis.
  • The integrated plasma-electrolysis system enables distributed ammonia production under ambient conditions.
  • This approach overcomes kinetic limitations of nitrogen reduction, offering a pathway to sustainable ammonia synthesis.