N-2-BINDING SITE IN NITROGENASE AND AMMONIA-SYNTHESIS WITH IRON CATALYSTS

Ethylene was used as a probe to detect the N2-binding site in nitrogenase.It was found that ethylene couldn't compete with N_2 in the nitrogenase system.So the N2 binding site in nitrogenase might probably be the mode of 6Fe[μ6(η2,e)]and the mode of 3Fe +1Mo[μ4(η3,e1)] in the cage of the protein-bonded FeMo-co, but not be the mode of dinuclear coordination occurred on the 2Fe-sites at the gap of FeMo-co.In ammonia synthesis with iron catalysts,the N2-binding site might probably be the mode of 6Fe [μ6(η3,e3)].