NEWS OF THE WEEK EUROPEAN
EARNINGS
SLIGHT OPTIMISM IN EARLY RESULTS Companies see hint of upturn, but currency effects will continue to hurt
T
HE FIRST BATCH OF ANNU-
al results from European chemical companies shows an industry hard hit by the im pact of currency exchange rates but leavened by a slight upturn in business. The optimism was most pro nounced at I C I . The hopeful mood was evident even though the company's 2003 net profit, $400 million at current exchange rates, was 17% below the comparable figure for 2002. Sales were down 4%, to $10.7billion. And the com pany cut its dividend by 17%, the third such cut in as many years.
INORGANIC
JohnMcAdam, chief executive, noted that business improved in the fourth quarter relative to the first three quarters, "and the de mand outlook appears to be more encouraging, particularly in North America." At Akzo Nobel, Chairman Hans Wijers reported that sales were $16.3 billion, down 7%, and net profits were $1 billion, down 9%. Wijers said adverse curren cy exchange rates wiped roughly $212 million off the firm's oper ating profit over the year. He predicted that net profit for 2004 would be below that of
CHEMISTRY
THE LATEST FIX FOR NITROGEN Side-on N2-zirconium complex hints at homogeneous catalytic NH 3 synthesis
I
N THE LATEST EFFORT τ ο
Ac
tivate and functionalize nitro gen to produce ammonia, as sistant chemistry professor Paul J. Chirik and coworkers at Cor nell University have found that tweaking the ligand in a soluble zirconium complex provides a valuable clue that may help chemists develop a homogeneous catalytic route for nitrogen fixa tion {Nature, 427,527 (2004)}. Dozens of transition-metal N 2 complexes have been reported over the years as chemists have tried—with little success—to de velop an alternative route to the Haber-Bosch industrial process, HTTP://WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
which makes N H 3 using high tem perature and pressure. The Cornell chemists began by reacting a zirconocene dichloride with N 2 in an organic solvent using sodium amalgam as the reducing agent. This reaction formed a bridging bimetallic complex where the N 2 is coordi nated side-on between the metal atoms. When H 2 is introduced, hydrogen atoms add to the N 2 bridge to form a new complex. Upon heating to 85 °C under H 2 , this complex dissociates to form zirconocene dihydride and a small amount of NH 3 . One twist to the chemistry is
last year, as the company sees neg ative currency translation effects only partially being offset by re structuring cost cuts and a slow improvement in the general world economy Ciba Specialty Chemicals CEO Armin Meyer reported 2003 sales of $53 billion—steady in local currencies but down 6% in Swiss francs. Net profits were off by 15%, to $455 million, reflecting, in part, a two-week shutdown of facilities at year's end to reduce stocks. The move cost the com pany nearly $50 million but trim med more than four times that amount from inventories. "I do think that business will pick up in 2004," Meyer said, "but we have no hard facts." U.S. companies, in particular, he not ed, are benefiting from the weak dollar: "Their situation will seem more positive as they correct up wards" when overseas sales are repatriated as dollars.—PATRICIA SHORT
that N H 3 forms when tetramethylated cyclopentadienyl ligands are used. When pentamethylated ligands are used, as shown by other researchers, N 2 binds end-on to the zirconium metal centers ( Z r - N = N ~ Z r ) . Upon further addition of H 2 , the endon complex dissociates to zirco nocene dihydride and liberates N 2 —a typical observation for metal-N 2 complexes. This find ing indicates that the tetramethyl ligands alter the coordination geometry of N 2 in such a way to allow N H 3 formation. "While our reaction sequence isn't catalytic at this time, it may shed light on how to assemble Ν—Η bonds under mild condi tions," Chirik says. Caltech assistant chemistry professor Jonas C. Peters calls the work "extremely fascinating," adding that it "reminds us all how seemingly subde changes in ligand architecture can dramatically al ter the course of a chemical reac tion profile."-STEVE RITTER C&EN
H —Ν-
Zr
W
^ H2, 85 °C Heptane
ZrCH
+
NH3
TRANSFORMED Side-on coordinated N2 in a zirconium intermediate can be hydrogenated and converted to ammonia under mild conditions.
/
FEBRUARY
9,
2004
9
