One reason that the war lasted until late 1918 was German use of the Haber- Bosch process to make ammonia and the Ostwald Process to convert ammonia into nitric acid and nitrates.

British and American efforts to produce ammonia using the Haber-Bosch Process during World War I failed even though several attempts were made and patents for the process were available. The failure was due to a lack of knowledge and ability in building and maintaining the high pressure equipment needed to carry out the reaction and a lack of knowledge about the chemistry of the catalysts needed. The German patents omitted many vital technical details, particularly those concerning the preparation of the required catalysts.

increase the amount and availability of explosives produced but they did not substantially change the techniques and basic chemical reactions that Nobel and others developed in the late 19th century. More importantly, the Haber-Bosch Process has changed the way nitrogen fertilizers are produced and used and has increased the availability and use of fertilizers. It is an important part of the "Green Revolution" of the 20th century.

Ammonium hydroxide exhibits the characteristics of a weak base, turning litmus paper blue, and neutralizing acids with the formation of ammonium salts.

In liquid or frozen ammonia, the molecules attract one another through sharing a hydrogen atom between one molecule and the next, called hydrogen bonding. In this attraction, called association, compounds apparently containing free electrons can be obtained by treating sodium/ammonia solutions with complexing agents.