The use of laser technology has revolutionized the method of nitrogen fixation, providing a new way to synthesize ammonia under ambient conditions. Recently, researchers used a commercial CO2 laser for the first time to disrupt the nitrogen-nitrogen triple bond, thus providing a new green alternative to the Haber-Bosch process.
Starptautisks pētnieks komanda ziņots lietots a lāzers to pārveidots litijs oksīds par litiju metālu, kas tad spontāni reaģēja ar slāpekli iekšā gaisā to form litijs nitrīds. šis sāls ir viegli hidrolizēts to amonjaks, atļaus metode to break rekords raža.
Huize Wang, first author from the Helmholtz Institute for Renewable Energy in Germany, said, "We introduced a pioneering concept that uses high-energy lasers to facilitate the conversion of different oxides into nitrides."
He added, "We achieve unprecedented yields at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. This result is remarkable compared to other methods." The actual yield is two orders of magnitude higher than other state-of-the-art solutions, including electrochemical and mehanochemical methods.
This is a completely new approach to producing green ammonia, which is potentially more sustainable than the Haber-Bosch process," said Victor Mougel, an expert in electrochemical conversion of small molecules at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. "The Haber -Bosch process is very energy-intensive due to the fact that it operates at high temperatures and pressures, and it also leads to CO2 emissions."
In papildinājums, he said, the new method "offers operational flexibility and environmental benefits" jo it works under ambient conditions. The process can also ražot amonjaks tieši kur tas ir vajadzīgs, kas samazina transporta izmaksas.
The team used an infrared laser to provide enough energy to dissociate the lithium-oxygen bond to produce lithium metal from lithium oxide. When exposed to air, lithium metal spontaneously combines with nitrogen, breaking the nitrogen-nitrogen triple covalent bond to produce lithium nitride.
Viņš tālāk paskaidro, "Next, we get amonjaks un litijs hidroksīds by hidrolizēšana lāzera radīts litijs nitrīds. In papildinājums, šis metode nodrošina iespējas ķīmiskai pārstrādei. Lāzers var inducē konversija no litija hidroksīda atpakaļ to litija nitrīda, efektīvi beigas litija cikls."
Viņš pievienots: "Šis vienlaicīgi kļūst cits jauns koncepcija - konversija o hidroksīda to nitrīds."
Tomēr, Ifan Stephens, an elektroķīmija and slāpeklis fiksācija eksperts at Imperial College London (UK), paliek skeptisks. He says: "I am skeptical that such high yields will be sustainable in the long term. In addition, the fact that it is a batch process, rather than a continuous process, will greatly limit its its feasibility. The fact that electrochemical techniques allow for continuous operation is a significant advantage over jaunākas lāzera inducētas metodes."
In papildinājums, the enerģija prasības of lāzeri varētu radīt a problēma for mērogošana up amonjaks sintēze. He pievienots: "If you are tikai ražo amonjaks on a small scale as a mēslojums in remote areas, then energy efficiency kļūst less important."
Tie pētnieki iesaka ka viņu metode piedāvā nozīmīgas priekšrocības pār elektroķīmija, tāds kā atrisinājums un vienkāršošana. In papildinājums, all jauns amonjaks sintēze metodes face viņu vislielākie izaicinājumi as ražošana mērogi up. The researchers envision scaling up the process by izplatīšana litija oksīda pulvera on a režģa virsmas un tad apstarošana the array of reactive cells one by one with a laser. In papildinājums, the pētnieki novēroja ka citi oksīdi eksponēts līdzīgs uzvedība, tāds kā magnijs, alumīnijs, cinks un kalcijs, albeit in zemāks raža.
Viņš paskaidro, "Šis var būt jo citi oksīdi ir vairāk grūti disociēt un hidrolizēt." Tomēr, reaktivitāte no sārmains un sārmains zeme metāli pret slāpeklis šķiet daudzsološi. He states, "Our recent research rāda ka vairāk bagātīgi metāli tādi kā magnija un kalcija var arī sadalīt uz leju slāpekli."
