University of Tokyo Develops Method to Produce Ammonia under Ambient Conditions

Copyright University of Tokyo (Institute of Engineering Innovation, School of Engineering)

The University of Tokyo (Institute of Engineering Innovation, School of Engineering) announced on December 2, 2010, that its research group led by Associate Professor Yoshiaki Nishibayashi has successfully developed a synthetic reaction to produce ammonia from nitrogen gas using a newly developed catalyst under very mild reaction conditions at ordinary temperatures and pressures. The research results were released on December 5, 2010, on the website of British science magazine Nature Chemistry.

The new catalyst is a molybdenum complex bearing a newly designed and synthesized molecular structure. The research team succeeded in efficient synthesis of ammonia by reacting nitrogen gas and hydrogen source with a nitrogen reducer, cobaltocene (an organometalic compound) in the existence of the catalyst.

Ammonia, an essential raw material for nitrate fertilizer in modern society, is produced using the Haber-Bosch process. It is an energy-intensive process that requires extreme reactive conditions for nitrogen and hydrogen gases (temperature of 400 to 600 degrees Celsius and pressure of 200 to 400 atmospheres).

Making it possible to produce ammonia at one atmosphere and at ambient temperatures, the new method holds promise for the development of a new energy-conserving, environmentally-friendly process with substantially reduced cost for the synthesis of ammonia.

Posted: 2011/03/01 06:00:15 AM