← all shorts

Concept

nitrogenase

The image depicts a molecular structure representing nitrogenase, an enzyme used by certain bacteria to convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, highlighting its role in fixing nitrogen under ambient conditions.

The enzyme used by certain bacteria to fix atmospheric nitrogen — splitting the triple bond of N₂ and combining the atoms with hydrogen to make ammonia. It does this at ambient temperature and pressure, a feat industry matches only with the Haber–Bosch process at hundreds of degrees and hundreds of atmospheres. The exact mechanism, centred on an iron-molybdenum cluster, is still being worked out a century after the enzyme was first identified.

Mentioned in 1 article