Condensed Matter Chemistry in Nitrogen Fixation（固氮反应中的凝聚态化学）

Xueli Wang#, Qianru Wang#, Di Li#, Junnian Wei, Jianping Guo, Liang Yu, Dehui Deng*, Ping Chen*, Zhenfeng Xi*

Prog. Chem., 2023. DOI: 10.7536/PC221224.

        Nitrogen is an indispensable element for life and the material world. The development of efficient conversion strategies to transform dinitrogen gas into various valuable nitrogen-containing compounds is of great economic and scientific importance. The activation and transformation of dinitrogen molecule is an eternal topic in chemistry, and it is of profound significance to understand nitrogen fixation from the level of condensed matter chemistry. Several related examples have been illustrated here to discuss the effects of condensed matter phenomena in nitrogen fixation chemistry. Some critical scientific problems in the field are discussed from three aspects: nitrogen fixation in homogeneous solution, heterogeneous ammonia synthesis, and coupling multiple energy for N₂/O2 conversion. We hope this review will inspire more chemists to think about the fundamental nature of nitrogen fixation chemistry from the perspective of condensed matter chemistry, offering more ideas to solve the related problems.

        氮是构成生命和物质世界不可或缺的元素,发展高效的转化方法将氮气分子转变为具有各种功能的含氮化合物,具有重要的经济价值和科学意义。氮气分子的活化转化是化学学科永恒的课题,而凝聚态化学的研究方法和多层面认识对固氮研究具有深刻意义。本文列举了一些固氮化学中的凝聚态现象,从均相溶液固氮、多相合成氨以及氮气/氧气多能耦合转化等三方面,讨论了目前固氮化学领域中存在的关键科学问题,期望启发更多学者从凝聚态化学角度思考固氮化学反应本质,为解决相关问题提供更多新的思路。