Reduction of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) by Superalkalis

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that superalkalis can effectively reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) to their anionic forms through single-electron transfer, with the process influenced by the size of the superalkali.

Contribution

It introduces the use of superalkalis for the reduction of NOx pollutants, showing stable ionic complexes via density functional calculations.

Findings

Superalkalis form stable ionic complexes with NOx.

Reduction of NOx to NOx- is achieved through electron transfer.

Size of superalkalis affects reduction efficiency.

Abstract

NOx are major air pollutants, having negative impact on environment and consequently, human health. We propose here the single-electron reduction of NOx (x = 1, 2) using superalkalis. We study the interaction of NOx with FLi2, OLi3 and NLi4 superalkalis using density functional calculations, which lead to stable superalkali-NOx ionic complexes with negatively charged NOx. This clearly reveals that the NOx can successfully be reduced to NOx- anion due to electron transfer from superalkalis. It has been also noticed that the size of superalkalis plays a crucial in the single-electron reduction of NOx.