Production
From a thermodynamic perspective, NO is unstable with respect to O2 and N2, although this conversion is very slow at ambient temperatures in the absence of a catalyst. Because the heat of formation of NO is endothermic, its synthesis from molecular nitrogen and oxygen requires elevated temperatures above 1000 °C.
A major natural source is lightning. The use of internal combustion engines has drastically increased the presence of nitric oxide in the environment. One purpose of catalytic converters in cars is to minimize NO emission by catalytic reversion to O2 and N2.
Read more about this topic: Nitric Oxide
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“In the production of the necessaries of life Nature is ready enough to assist man.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)