Is a H2O-N2 to H2-N2O Catalyst Possible?

[SAZAR]

How silly is this?

Catalysts work as sort of small chemical reactors -
they react with molecule of substance one and then the molecule of substance two is brought in the reaction
so those two can react now creating one or more new molecules as a final result
and also, by the way, leaving the catalyst unchanged - right?

Now - imagine a catalyst that takes in H2O and anything abundant (from the atmosphere) - say N2, so at room temperature it turns
H2O and N2
into
H2 and N2O (a laughing gas) :D
---

So - what are the thoughts on that? First: how much is such reaction discussed at all - I don't know?
Is it really possible to make such catalyst? (I mean the benefits of such chemical reaction are obvious - H2 can be used as fuel and N2O is a powerful oxidizer - those two could power vehicles and stuff...)

 

[russ_watters]

Please have a look at the wiki on catalysts:

Catalytic reactions have a lower rate-limiting free energy of activation than the corresponding uncatalyzed reaction, resulting in higher reaction rate at the same temperature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalysis

The purpose of a catalyst is to alter the rate of a reaction.

 

[SAZAR]

Even at ambient temperature it occurs that H2O splits into H2 and O2:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_splitting
:
"but at ambient temperatures only one molecule in 100 trillion dissociates by the effect of heat"
"Thermal water splitting has been investigated for hydrogen production since the 1960s"

Does it happen because of impurities? Which impurity then? Or maybe it happens without impurities - then why - what causes it?
Why does it happen for that "crazy" one while others stay unchanged?
Maybe we would learn something if we could spot that one little rascal. :9
(I don't say it's a catalyst reaction maybe it's some common chemical reaction - but why does it wait to occur - is it just temperature... I mean - what happens there? Maybe some electric current occurred? Maybe a nuclear reaction of some nearby atom triggered it?)

I mean - what ever it is it produces hydrogen at room temperature without our intervention, on its own!
If we figure what happened we could use that to make that effect on larger scale.

 

[Borek]

It produces hydrogen but very slowly and inefficiently. And the process is very well understood from the kinetic and thermodynamic points of view, there is nothing here that won't be described by known and well established theories. Please read about chemical equilibrium and so called Gibbs free energy.

 

[alphy]

I appreciate your curiosity and creativity in exploring different chemical reactions and their potential applications. However, I must say that the idea of a H2O-N2 to H2-N2O catalyst is not only silly, but also scientifically unfounded.

Firstly, the concept of a catalyst is based on the fact that it speeds up a chemical reaction by lowering the activation energy, but it does not change the overall thermodynamics of the reaction. In the case of H2O and N2, the reaction is not thermodynamically favorable to produce H2 and N2O. This means that even with a catalyst, the reaction would not occur.

Secondly, the proposed reaction would require a significant amount of energy input to break the strong bonds between H2O and N2, making it an inefficient process. It would also produce a mixture of gases, rather than a pure product, making it difficult to separate and use.

Lastly, the use of N2O as a fuel is not a viable option due to its harmful effects on the environment and human health. While it is a powerful oxidizer, it is also a potent greenhouse gas and contributes to air pollution.

In conclusion, while your idea may seem interesting and have potential benefits, it is not scientifically feasible. As scientists, it is important to critically evaluate ideas and theories before pursuing them, and to always base our work on sound scientific principles.