Electrochemical conversion of nitrous oxide into ammonia in the presence of iron complexes

The electrochemical conversion of NO into NH3 has been studied using iron complexes as homogeneous catalysts. The present results show that small amounts of NH2OH and N2H4 are formed, but no detectable amounts of N2O. The conversion efficiency depends on the solution used and diminishes in the following order: FeIIphen > aquo-FeII > FeIIpy > FeIIedta > blank. The mechanism of conversion of NO into NH3 is discussed in the light of spectrophotometry, cyclic voltammetry and quantitative analyses.