Beyond Fossil Fuel–Driven Nitrogen Transformations

Authors

Jingguang G. Chen, Columbia University
Richard M. Crooks, The University of Texas at Austin
Lance C. Seefeldt, Utah State UniversityFollow
Kara L. Bren, University of Rochester
R. Morris Bullock, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Marcetta Y. Darensbourg, Texas A&M University
Patrick L. Holland, Yale University
Brian Hoffman, Northwestern University
Michael J. Janik, Pennsylvania State University
Anne K. Jones, Arizona State University
Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, Northwestern University
Paul King, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Kyle M. Lancaster, Cornell University
Sergei V. Lymar, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Peter Pfromm, Washington State University Pullman
William F. Schneider, University of Notre Dame
Richard R. Schrock, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title

Science

Publication Date

5-25-2018

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Volume

360

Issue

6391

First Page

1

Last Page

8

Abstract

Nitrogen is fundamental to all of life and many industrial processes. The interchange of nitrogen oxidation states in the industrial production of ammonia, nitric acid, and other commodity chemicals is largely powered by fossil fuels. A key goal of contemporary research in the field of nitrogen chemistry is to minimize the use of fossil fuels by developing more efficient heterogeneous, homogeneous, photo-, and electrocatalytic processes or by adapting the enzymatic processes underlying the natural nitrogen cycle. These approaches, as well as the challenges involved, are discussed in this Review.

Recommended Citation

Chen, J. G., Crooks, R. M., Seefeldt, L. C., Bren, K. L., Bullock, R. M., Darensbourg, M. Y., Holland, P. L., Hoffman, B., Janik, M. J., Jones, A. K., Kanatzidis, M. G., King, P., Lancaster, K. M., Lymar, S. V., Pfromm, P., Schneider, W. F., and Schrock, R. R. (2018) Beyond fossil fuel–driven nitrogen transformations. Science 360, eaar6611.