Plasma-Triggered CH(4)/NH(3) Coupling Reaction for Direct Synthesis of Liquid Nitrogen-Containing Organic Chemicals

[Image: see text] Nitrogen-containing organic chemicals such as amines, amides, nitriles, and hydrazones are crucial in chemical and medical industries. This paper reports a direct synthesis of N,N-dimethyl cyanamide [(CH(3))(2)NCN] and amino acetonitrile (NH(2)CH(2)CN) through a methane/ammonia (CH(4)/NH(3)) coupling reaction triggered by dielectric barrier discharge plasma, with by-products of hydrazine, amines, and hydrazones. The influence of CH(4)/NH(3) molar ratio, feedstock residence time, and specific energy input on the CH(4)/NH(3) plasma coupling reaction has been investigated and discussed. Under the optimized conditions, the productivities of (CH(3))(2)NCN and NH(2)CH(2)CN reached 0.46 and 0.82 g·L(–1)·h(–1), respectively, with 8.83% CH(4) conversion. In addition, through combining the optical emission spectra diagnosis and the reaction results, a possible CH(4)/NH(3) plasma coupling reaction mechanism has been proposed. This paper provides a potential fine application of CH(4) and NH(3) in green synthesis of liquid nitrogen-containing organic chemicals, such as nitriles, amines, amides, and hydrazones.