biostudies-literatureUnknown9(12)Shi XThe element nitrogen and nitrogenous compounds are vital to life. The synthesis of nitrogen-containing compounds using dinitrogen as the nitrogen source, not through ammonia, is of great interest and great value but remains a grand challenge. Herein, we describe a strategy to realize this transformation by combining the heterogeneous approach with the homogeneous methodology. The N₂ molecule was first fixed with carbon and LiH through a one-pot heterogeneous process, forming Li₂CN₂ as an 'activated' nitrogen source with high efficiency. Then subsequent homogeneous treatments of Li₂CN₂ to construct the organic synthon carbodiimide and the RNA/DNA building block pyrimidines were fulfilled. By using ¹⁵N₂ as the feedsNational science reviewnwac168https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9905645biostudies-literatureSynthesis of pyrimidines from dinitrogen and carbon.PMC9905645Xi ZChen PShi XWang GXHe TWang QGuo JCai YChen YGao WWei JQin CWu LJfalseSynthesis of pyrimidines from dinitrogen and carbon.The element nitrogen and nitrogenous compounds are vital to life. The synthesis of nitrogen-containing compounds using dinitrogen as the nitrogen source, not through ammonia, is of great interest and great value but remains a grand challenge. Herein, we describe a strategy to realize this transformation by combining the heterogeneous approach with the homogeneous methodology. The N₂ molecule was first fixed with carbon and LiH through a one-pot heterogeneous process, forming Li₂CN₂ as an 'activated' nitrogen source with high efficiency. Then subsequent homogeneous treatments of Li₂CN₂ to construct the organic synthon carbodiimide and the RNA/DNA building block pyrimidines were fulfilled. By using ¹⁵N₂ as the feeds2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Dec2025-05-29T21:48:59.289Z2024-11-09T01:34:13.859ZS-EPMC99056453677810710.1093/nsr/nwac168