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AssigneeNational University Corporation Hokkaido University
InventorsMiho Yamauchi, Ryu Abe
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Disclosed are: a catalyst which is capable of reducing and converting nitrate ions into ammonia without adding a hydrogen gas thereto; a method for synthesizing ammonia using the catalyst, wherein nitrate ions are reduced without adding a hydrogen gas thereto; and a method for decreasing nitrogen oxide in water by reducing nitrate ions contained in the water. Disclosed is a photocatalyst composition that is obtained by loading a photocatalyst, which is capable of photoreducing protons into a hydrogen gas, with CuPd alloy nanoparticles. The photocatalyst composition is used for the purpose of producing ammonia by photoreducing nitrogen that is coexistent with water and nitrogen oxide. The CuPd alloy nanoparticles are (1) CuPd alloy nanoparticles having a B2 type crystal structure and represented by CuxPd(1-x) (wherein 0.3≦x≦0.7), (2) CuPd alloy nanoparticles having a bcc type crystal structure and represented by CuxPd(1-x) (wherein 0.3<x<0.7), (3) CuPd alloy nanoparticles having a fcc type crystal structure and represented by CuxPd(1-x) (wherein 0.01≦x≦0.99), (4) CuPd alloy nanoparticles having an L12 type crystal structure and represented by CuxPd(1-x) (wherein 0.7≦x≦0.98), or (5) CuPd alloy nanoparticles having a crystal structure wherein at least two of a B2 type portion, a bcc type portion, an fcc type portion, an L12 type portion and a phase separation type portion are mixed. Disclosed are a method for synthesizing ammonia using the photocatalyst composition, and a method for decreasing nitrogen oxide in water using the photocatalyst composition.
A method for producing ammonia, comprising reducing at least one member selected from the group consisting of nitrogen and nitrogen oxides in water in the presence of a photocatalyst composition in which CuPd alloy nanoparticles are supported on a photocatalyst capable of photoreducing protons to hydrogen with irradiation of the photocatalyst composition with light capable of activating the photocatalyst contained in the photocatalyst composition to produce ammonia, wherein the CuPd alloy nanoparticles have an average particle diameter of 1 to 7 nm, and the CuPd alloy nanoparticles are at least one type of CuPd alloy nanoparticle from among (1), (2) and (3):
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.