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Laughing Gas in a Vicious Circle

May 15, 2001

Italian researchers discover another mechanism for the formation of atmospheric N2O

Summer smog, the ozone hole, the greenhouse effect – the complex web of chemical
reactions in the atmosphere, which leads to manifold environmental problems, is still not fully
cleared up. In a tricky way, a single chemical compound is found at the center of the action:
laughing gas (N2O). A group of Italian chemists working with Giulia de Petris at the University
La Sapienza in Rome has now discovered an important mechanism by which laughing gas is
formed in the atmosphere.
Laughing gas sounds like a nice, harmless substance. In humans, the slightly sweet-smelling gas is completely
safe if properly handled. It is used as an anesthetic as well as for making whipped cream. Unfortunately it is also
used as a party drug because it can cause convulsive laughter – hence the name – and a high when inhaled.
In our atmosphere, dinitrogen monoxide, as N2O is known to chemists, shows its unfriendly side; it acts as a
greenhouse gas and is the main source of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the upper layers of the atmosphere, the
stratosphere. Nitrogen oxides also contribute to the greenhouse effect. On top of this, the reaction that converts
laughing gas to nitrogen oxides destroys the ozone layer. The nitrogen oxides then also go on to contribute to the
formation of the ozone hole. But how does laughing gas get into the atmosphere? The main route is through
microbial decomposition of nitrogen-containing compounds in the soil, especially upon heavy fertilization with
nitrogen-containing fertilizers. It is also a byproduct of combustion processes.
Additionally, De Petris and coworkers have discovered another important, completely different mechanism for
the formation of laughing gas. They generated electrically charged ozone molecules and mixed them with nitrogen.
This caused an adduct of the two compounds to form, which then decomposed to form N2O and dioxygen.
Charged ozone particles are formed in the atmosphere when ozone-enriched air is electrically
charged. Sufficiently high voltages occur in the vicinity of power-lines and during thunderstorms.
This thus closes the circle: Under summer smog conditions, nitrogen oxides from emissions form
ozone. This ground-level ozone is then responsible for the formation of laughing gas, which then
destroys the ozone layer in the stratosphere while making more nitrogen oxides.

WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH

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