Nitric Oxide

Nitric Oxide is generated as a pollutant by the combustion of fossil fuels in proximity to excess oxygen. It is also generated by the direct reaction of atmospheric nitrogen to oxygen during electrical storms. Commercially, all high-purity Nitric Oxide is produced by the oxidation of ammonia by means of a platinum catalyst and heat. Small amounts of NO can be produced in the laboratory by taking diluted nitric acid and reducing it with copper.

The bulk of the Nitric Oxide created is used as an intermediate in the production of concentrated nitric acid. High-purity Nitric Oxide is used in calibration standards for environmental emission oversight, industrial hygiene monitors, and trace impurity analyzers. NO is also used in gas mixtures to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension and is increasingly being used in many pharmacological research applications in which vasodilation acts as a type of pain reduction.