title: Binding and activation of N2O at transition-metal centers: recent mechanistic insights.
abstract: No laughing matter, nitrous oxide's role in stratospheric ozone depletion and as a greenhouse gas has stimulated great interest in developing and understanding its decomposition, particularly through the use of transition-metal promoters. Recent advances in our understanding of the reaction pathways for N(2)O reduction by metal ions in the gas phase and in heterogeneous, homogeneous, and biological catalytic systems have provided provocative ideas about the structure and properties of metal N(2)O adducts and derived intermediates. These ideas are likely to inform efforts to design more effective catalysts for N(2)O remediation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Center for Metals in Biocatalysis, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55410, USA. wtolman@umn.edu
authors.forename: William B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Tolman
mesh_terms: D005740:Gases / Q000737:chemistry; D009609:Nitrous Oxide / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism; D044367:Phase Transition; D028561:Transition Elements / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D005740:Gases; D028561:Transition Elements; D010088:Oxidoreductases; C022763:nitrous oxide reductase; D009609:Nitrous Oxide