N1 Chemistry: Catalytic Conversion of Small Molecules

Dear Colleagues,

Nitrogen, no. 7 in the periodic table of chemical elements, is a non-metallic element that generally exists in the form of nitrogen gas (N₂) in nature, accounting for about 78% of the Earth's atmosphere, and is also a major constituent element of chemical products. In recent years, the demand for nitrogen-containing chemical products has been increasing steadily, and research on elemental nitrogen and compounds containing nitrogen atoms has attracted considerable attention.

N1 chemistry, also known as mono-nitrogen chemistry, focuses on elemental nitrogen and compounds containing a single nitrogen atom, such as N₂, ammonia (NH₃), nitric oxide (NO), hydroxylamine (NH₂OH), nitric acid (HNO₃), and amino acids. Research in this area emphasizes the interconversion of these species and the synthesis of other chemical products, with particular relevance to ammonia synthesis, ammonia decomposition for hydrogen production, and flue gas denitration. This field holds significant importance for advancing renewable energy development, controlling environmental pollution, and achieving carbon neutrality.

With the growing global demand for sustainable development and carbon neutrality, N1 chemistry holds broad application prospects in fields such as energy, materials science, and environmental protection, while also facing numerous challenges. First, in terms of green catalytic technologies, processes like ammonia synthesis and ammonia‑to‑hydrogen conversion are relatively mature, but they still suffer from issues such as high energy consumption. There is an urgent need to develop catalysts with excellent activity and selectivity under low-temperature and low-pressure conditions. Second, another challenge is process coupling technologies in chemical engineering; for example, denitration can be coupled with ammonia synthesis. Using H₂ as a reducing agent to convert NO in flue gas into NH₃ not only avoids the consumption of NH₃ during NO removal in the NH₃-SCR process, but also enables efficient NH₃ production, offering multiple benefits. However, technical challenges such as the capture, separation, and storage of NO from flue gas still need to be overcome. Third, in terms of interdisciplinary approaches, photo-, electro-, plasma-, and bio-engineering can be integrated into N1 catalytic processes. For instance, with the advancement of plasma technology, N₂ can be oxidized to NO via plasma-catalytic oxidation, providing an alternative route for the subsequent conversion of NO to NH₃.

Furthermore, the development of N1 chemistry calls for strengthened fundamental research and deepened interdisciplinary collaboration. We believe that N1 chemistry will make even greater contributions to the sustainable development of human society.

Prof. Dr. Feng Yu
Dr. Zongyuan Wang
Dr. Pei Chen
Guest Editors

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• N1 Chemistry
• nitrogen cycle
• ammonia
• nitric oxide
• hydroxylamine
• nitric acid
• amino acids
• denitration
• molecular catalysis