Direct Transformation of Molecular Dinitrogen into Ammonia Catalyzed by Cobalt Dinitrogen Complexes Bearing Anionic PNP Pincer Ligands

Ammonia is an important nutrient for the growth of plants. In industry, ammonia is produced by the energy expensive Haber-Bosch process where dihydrogen and dinitrogen form ammonia at a very high pressure and temperature. In principle one could also reduce dinitrogen upon addition of protons and electrons similar to the mechanism of ammonia production by nitrogenases. Recently, major breakthroughs have taken place in our understanding of biological fixation of dinitrogen, of molecular model systems that can reduce dinitrogen, and in the electrochemical reduction of dinitrogen at heterogeneous surfaces. Yet for efficient reduction of dinitrogen with protons and electrons major hurdles still have to be overcome. In this tutorial review we give an overview of the different catalytic systems, highlight the recent breakthroughs, pinpoint common grounds and discuss the bottlenecks and challenges in catalytic reduction of dinitrogen. Show more

Four Cu(I) complexes were synthesized with a family of pyridylmethylamide ligands, HL(R) [HL(R) = N-(2-pyridylmethyl)acetamide, R = null; 2,2-dimethyl-N-(2-pyridylmethyl)propionamide, R = Me(3); 2,2,2-triphenyl-N-(2-pyridylmethyl)acetamide, R = Ph(3))]. Complexes 1-3 were synthesized from the respective ligand and [Cu(CH(3)CN)(4)]PF(6) in a 2 : 1 molar ratio: [Cu(HL)(2)]PF(6) (1), [Cu(2)(HL(Me3))(4)](PF(6))(2) (2), [Cu(HL(Ph3))(2)]PF(6) (3). Complex 4, [Cu(HL)(CH(3)CN)(PPh(3))]PF(6), was synthesized from the reaction of HL with [Cu(CH(3)CN)(4)]PF(6) and PPh(3) in a 1 : 1 : 1 molar ratio. X-Ray crystal structures reveal that complexes 1, 3 and 4 are mononuclear Cu(I) species, while complex 2 is a Cu(I) dimer. The copper ions are four-coordinate with geometries ranging from distorted tetrahedral to seesaw in 1, 2, and 4. Complexes 1 and 2 are very air sensitive and they display similar electrochemical properties. The coordination geometry of complex 3 is nearly linear, two-coordinate. Complex 3 is exceptionally stable with respect to oxidation in the air, and its cyclic voltammetry shows no oxidation wave in the range of 0-1.5 V. The unusual inertness of complex 3 towards oxidation is attributed to the protection from bulky triphenyl substituent of the HL(Ph3) ligand. A new geometric parameter for four-coordinate compounds, tau(4), is proposed as an improved, simple metric for quantitatively evaluating the geometry of four-coordinate complexes and compounds. Show more

Dinitrogen (N2) was reduced to ammonia at room temperature and 1 atmosphere with molybdenum catalysts that contain tetradentate [HIPTN3N]3- triamidoamine ligands (such as [HIPTN3N]Mo(N2), where [HIPTN3N]3- is [(3,5-(2,4,6-i-Pr3C6H2)2C6H3NCH2CH2)3N]3-) in heptane. Slow addition of the proton source [(2,6-lutidinium)(BAr'4), where Ar' is 3,5-(CF3)2C6H3]and reductant (decamethyl chromocene) was critical for achieving high efficiency ( approximately 66% in four turnovers). Numerous x-ray studies, along with isolation and characterization of six proposed intermediates in the catalytic reaction under noncatalytic conditions, suggest that N2 was reduced at a sterically protected, single molybdenum center that cycled from Mo(III) through Mo(VI) states. Show more