BEHIND THE SCENES OF METAL HYDRIDE FORMATION

摘要

Hydrogen is an energy-dense and clean-burning fuel which can be produced by electrochemical reduction and protonation of a regenerative catalyst. Understanding the catalytic formation of hydrogen entails tracking exactly how protons and electrons are brought together in one of the slowest steps, formation of the metal-hydride bond.In 2017, Jillian Dempsey and co-workers first published results studying hydride formation in one of few transition metal complexes capable of forming a stable metal hydride species, [CoCp(dppe)(NCCH_3)]~(2+) (Cp = cyclopentadienyl, dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane). Unexpectedly, the rate of proton transfer to the complex increased linearly withacid strength but starkly plateaued when strong acids were used.