NaNbO₃ fibre catalyst can efficiently hydrogenate azobenzene to hydrazobenzene with 100 % selectivity under Xe light irradiation. The catalytic activity was closely dependent on the trans-cis photoisomerisation of azobenzene and the subsequent moderate activation of cis NN bond on Nb site. The adsorption of azobenzene with cis or trans conformation on the Nb active site was investigated by the computational methods. The apparent increase of the cis NN bond length from 1.254 to 1.348 Å, suggested an effective activation. The important role of the cis isomer in the reaction was also reflected in the quenching experiment, in which a silver quencher was used to inhibit the generation of the cis isomer. The weak interaction between Nb site and NN of hydrazobenzene was the key to inhibit the over reduction, which was confirmed by the in situ diffuse-reflectance IR spectra.

NaNbO ₃纤维催化剂可以在Xe光照射下以100％的选择性将偶氮苯有效地氢化为苯。催化活性密切依赖于偶氮苯的反式-顺式光异构化以及随后在Nb位上的顺式N N键的适度活化。通过计算方法研究了Nb活性位上顺式或反式构象的偶氮苯的吸附。顺式N N键长度从1.254到1.348Å的明显增加，表明有效的活化作用。顺式的重要作用淬灭实验中也反映了反应中的异构体，其中使用了银淬灭剂来抑制顺式异构体的生成。Nb位与苯的N N之间的弱相互作用是抑制过度还原的关键，这一点已通过原位漫反射红外光谱证实。