ERROR 1
ERROR 1
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
Password and Confirm password must match.
If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)
ERROR 2
ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.
Cleaning up ammonia in industrial waste gas streams by converting the compound to nitrogen and water could be an effective method for treating oxygen-containing waste gas, if a suitable catalyst were found. Some transition metals, such as platinum and iridium, can facilitate the conversion, but those catalysts produce unwanted side products including nitric oxide and nitrous oxide. Now, University of Texas, Austin, chemical engineers Jinlong Gong, C. Buddie Mullins, and coworkers have found that gold can do the job effectively. Specifically, the group reports that a model catalytic system, a gold single crystal pretreated with atomic oxygen, promotes catalytic oxidation of ammonia to nitrogen and water selectively (J. Am. Chem. Soc., published online June 27, dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja062624w). The researchers note that by-products can be eliminated by tuning the concentration of adsorbed oxygen atoms. They propose that ammonia decomposition proceeds by way of hydrogen abstraction from surface-bound ammonia.
Join the conversation
Contact the reporter
Submit a Letter to the Editor for publication
Engage with us on Twitter