Deville rebooted - practical N2O5 synthesis

Chem Commun (Camb). 2024 May 15. doi: 10.1039/d4cc01403k. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5), the anhydride of nitric acid, was synthesised by Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville in Paris in 1849 using silver nitrate and chlorine gas. Herein, we revisit, optimise, and modify Deville's method using photocatalysis to enable a safe, clean, practical, and reproducible alternative for N2O5 synthesis in quantitative yields. Moreover, it is predicted that the modifications can accommodate an industrial scale-up, but the silver chloride generated must be recycled.