We report a family of cobalt complexes based on bidentate phosphine ligands with two, one, or zero pendent amine groups in the ligand backbone. The pendent amine complexes are active electrocatalysts for the formate oxidation reaction, generating CO2 with near-quantitative faradaic efficiency at moderate overpotentials (0.45 – 0.57 V in acetonitrile). These homogeneous electrocatalysts are the first cobalt example and second first-row transition metal example for formate oxidation. Thermodynamic measurements reveal these complexes are energetically primed for formate oxidation via hydride transfer to the cobalt center, followed by deprotonation of the resulting cobalt-hydride by formate acting as a base. The complex with the strongest cobalt- hydride bond, given by its thermodynamic hydricity, is the fastest electrocatalyst in this series, with an observed rate constant for formate oxidation of 135 ± 8 h−1 at 25 °C. Electrocatalytic turnover is not observed for the complex with no pendent amine groups: decomposition of the complex structure is evident in the presence of high formate concentrations.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 2117792
- PAR ID:
- 10529782
- Publisher / Repository:
- ChemRxiv
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Institution:
- Rutgers University
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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null (Ed.)A cobalt( i ) complex is shown to be capable of both electrocatalytic reduction and hydrogenation of CO 2 to formate. Several proposed intermediates are characterized and thus form the basis for a proposed mechanism that allows for the dual reactivity: reduction of CO 2 via H 2 addition, and H + /e − equivalents. The work makes use of a novel tris(phosphino) ligand. When a pendent amine is attached to the ligand, no change in catalytic reactivity is observed.more » « less
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1. Introduction
2. Heterometallic Hydride Design and Characterization
3. Amplification in Catalysis
4. Summary and Outlook