Formic Acid Dehydrogenation by a Cyclometalated κ3-CNN Ruthenium Complex

Abstract

Hydrogen utilization as a sustainable energy vector is of growing interest. We report herein a cyclometalated ruthenium complex [Ru(κ3-CNN)(dppb)Cl], originally described by Baratta, to be active in the selective dehydrogenation (DH) of formic acid (FA) to H2 and CO2. TON's of more than 10000 were achieved under best conditions without observation of CO (detection limit 10 ppm). The distinguished behavior of the catalyst was explored varying the starting conditions. Our observation revealed the complex [Ru(κ3-CNN)(dppb)(OOCH)] as key species in the catalytic cycle.