Sustainable nitrate production out of thin air: The photocatalytic oxidation of molecular nitrogen

01 October 2021, Version 1
This content is a preprint and has not undergone peer review at the time of posting.

Abstract

Novel processes for the sustainable production of fertilizers are highly sought after to combat climate change. Herein, we demonstrate that by irradiating with strong UVA-light, TiO2 is able to photocatalytically oxidize molecular nitrogen in the gas phase under ambient conditions to NOx and nitrate. The reaction produces predominantly nitrogen dioxide with a high selectivity of up to 93% which could be captured afterwards to produce nitric acid or nitrates and used as sustainable (solar) fertilizer.

Keywords

Photocatalysis
Titanium dioxide
Nitrogen fixation
Sustainable production
Solar fertilizer

Supplementary materials

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Supporting Information
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Information on the experimental details, the control experiments and the determination of the nitrate balance.
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