CATALYTIC REDUCTION OF ACETYLENE AND DINITROGEN WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF THE IRON-MOLYBDENUM COFACTOR OF NITROGENASE AND SYNTHETIC POLYNUCLEAR MOLYBDENUM(III) COMPLEXES

Catalytic reduction of acetylene and dinitrogen was carried out by sod ium, zinc, and europium amalgams in the presence of polymolybdenum clu sters and the iron-molybdenum cofactor of nitrogenase isolated from th e enzyme. The activity of both catalysts toward acetylene changes in t he sequence Zn(Hg) < Eu(Hg) < Na(Hg), increasing as the redox potentia l of the reducing agent is shifted to the negative region. The catalyt ic reduction of N-2 occurs only by the action of sodium and europium a malgams and only in the presence of synthetic polymolybdenum complexes ; in the case of Na(Hg), the main product is hydrazine; in the case of Eu(Hg), it is ammonia.