The present invention relates to the field of nanotechnology, more specifically to the production of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) from plant extracts derived from leaves, stems, seeds, flowers, fruits or latex from plant species such as Colliguaja salicifolia, Pittosporum Undulatum, Acca sellowiana, Ugni molinae and Colliguaja integerrima, in which naturally occurring biocatalysts are possessed by these plants. The invention also relates to the gold nanoparticles obtained from said plants as well as to said natural biocatalysts.

An ammonia production method is a method of producing ammonia from nitrogen molecule using electron supplied from a power supply in the presence of a complex and a proton source. The complex used is, for example, a molybdenum complex (1) that is carried on Merrifield resin. The proton source used is an electrolyte membrane, a solution used in a cathode tank, or both the electrolyte membrane and the solution used in the cathode tank:

##STR00001##

The present application is directed to a method for the conversion of nitrous acid to dinitrogen gas. In particular, the present application relates to a method for the conversion of nitrous acid to dinitrogen gas by contacting the nitrous acid with an amine-functionalized metal organic framework.

A catalyst, including: a transition metal; and an organic solvent. The transition metal is dispersed in the organic solvent in the form of monodisperse nanoparticles; the transition metal has a grain size of between 1 and 100 nm; and the catalyst has a specific surface area of 5 and 300 m.sup.2/g. The invention also provides a method for preparing a catalyst, including: 1) dissolving an organic salt of a transition metal in an organic solvent including a polyhydric alcohol, to yield a mixture; and 2) heating and stirring the mixture in the presence of air or inert gas, holding the mixture at the temperature of between 150 and 250° C. for between 30 and 240 min, to yield the catalyst.

A process for catalyzed reaction of CO and H.sub.2 into methanol includes the step of reacting the CO and H.sub.2 with a catalyst comprising a transition metal and at least one Lewis basic ligand together with at least one nucleophilic promoter so as to produce the methanol as a product.

A process for preparing a catalyst material, includes: (a) providing a support material having surface hydroxyl (OH) groups, the support material is ceria (CeO.sub.2), zirconia (ZrO.sub.2) or a combination, and the support material contains between 0.3 and 2.0 mmol OH groups/g of the support material; (b) reacting the support material with at least one of: (b1) a compound containing at least one alkoxy or phenoxy group bound though its oxygen atom to a metal element from Group 5 (V, Nb, Ta) or Group 6 (Cr, Mo, W); (b2) a compound containing at least one hydrocarbon group bound though a carbon atom to a metal element from Group 5 or 6; (b3) a compound containing at least one hydrocarbon group bound though a carbon atom to a metal element which is copper (Cu); and (c) calcining the product obtained in step (b).

A process for preparing a catalyst material, includes the steps of: (a) providing a support material having surface hydroxyl (OH) groups, wherein the support material is ceria (CeO.sub.2), zirconia (ZrO.sub.2) or a combination of thereof; (b) reacting the support material having surface hydroxyl (OH) groups of step (a) with a precursor containing two transition metal atoms, each chosen independently from the group consisting of: W, Mo, Cr, Ta, Nb, V, Mn; (c) calcining the product obtained in step (b) in order to provide a catalyst material showing dual site surface species containing pairs of transition metal atoms derived from the precursor that are present in oxide form on the support material. Additionally, a catalyst material is obtained by the process set out above, and the catalyst material is used as an ammonia selective catalytic reduction (NH.sub.3-SCR) catalyst for nitrogen oxides (NOx) reduction.

This invention relates to molecular catalysts and chemical reactions utilizing the same, and particularly to catalysts and catalytic methods for reduction of molecular nitrogen. The molecular catalytic platform provided herein is capable of the facile reduction of molecular nitrogen under useful conditions such as room temperature or less and atmospheric pressure or less.

The present invention describes an electrochemical system (1) to electrochemically reduce carbon monoxide (CO) into liquid methanol and gaseous H.sub.2, comprising an electrochemical cell with an anodic compartment with an anode (2) with a current collector (2A), at least a catalyst to electrochemically oxidize H.sub.2O, and a cathodic compartment with a cathodic electrolyte solution comprising the solvent (3), and a cathodic supporting electrolyte, the solvent (3) being water at basic pH of between 10.5 and 13.5, the reagent CO; a cathode (4) which comprises, on a current collector (4A) which is electrochemically inert, at least a cobalt molecular catalyst (4B) to electrochemically reduce CO into liquid methanol and the gas H.sub.2, a power supply (5) providing the energy necessary to trigger the electrochemical reactions involving the reagent.

An ammonia manufacturing apparatus includes: an electrochemical reaction unit including a first electrolytic bath for accommodating a first electrolytic solution, an oxidation electrode disposed in the first electrolytic bath, a second electrolytic bath for accommodating a second electrolytic solution containing nitrogen, an ammonia producing catalyst, and a reducing agent, a reduction electrode disposed in the second electrolytic bath, and a diaphragm, and configured to reduce nitrogen by the ammonia producing catalyst and the reducing agent in the second electrolytic bath to produce ammonia, and reduce the reducing agent oxidized due to the production of ammonia, at the reduction electrode by connecting the oxidation electrode and the reduction electrode to a power supply; a nitrogen supply unit including a nitrogen supply part for dissolving nitrogen in the second electrolytic solution; and an ammonia separation unit including a separation part configured to separate ammonia from the second electrolytic solution.