For the first time, two molecules of atmospheric nitrogen (blue, middle) are coupled directly to each other in research by chemists from Würzburg and Frankfurt. (Image: Rian Dewhurst / Marc-André Légaré)
03/22/2019 - Direct coupling of two molecules of nitrogen: chemists from Würzburg and Frankfurt have achieved what was thought to be impossible. This new reaction is reported and opens new possibilities for one of the most inert molecules on earth. Constituting over 78 % of the air we breathe, nitrogen is the element found the most often in its pure form on earth. The reason for the abundance of elemental nitrogen is the incredible stability and inertness of dinitrogen (N 2 ), a molecule comprising two nitrogen atoms and the form in which most nitrogen exists. Only in very harsh environments, such as in the ionosphere, can dinitrogen be assembled into longer nitrogen chains, forming N 4 ions with very short lifetimes. Despite the inertness of dinitrogen, nature is able to use it as an important feedstock for all kinds of living organisms. In biological systems, the very strong nitrogen-nitrogen bond in N 2 can be cleaved and ammonia (NH 3 ) can be produced, which then becomes the source of nitrogen for the entire food chain on Earth.
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