The process of denitrification is environmentally important for the purification of water due to the potentially hazardous effects of nitrate (NO3-). Excess nitrate from fertilizers or human and animal waste can promote the growth of bacteria in fresh and salt water bodies, causing harmful algal blooms that ultimately deoxygenate water and cause “dead zones.” Nitrate can also cause infantile methaemoglobinaemia, or “blue baby syndrome.” Only three examples of homogenous nitrate reduction catalysts have been reported in the literature, and all were published prior to the realization that harmful algal blooms had a significant impact on the environment. To combat this existing environmental problem, a copper(II) bis-perfluoropinacolate complex of the form K2[Cu(pinF)2] has been shown to electrochemically reduce nitrate and other nitrogen-containing substrates in water. The pre-catalyst, [Cu(pinF)2]2-, has a copper center in a square-planar geometry bound to four oxygen atoms from two fully fluorinated alkoxide ligands. The complex has displayed homogeneous catalytic behavior, as both concentration of catalyst and concentration of substrate are linearly proportional to current. Electrochemical experiments will be discussed, including evaluation of nitrate reduction by solution 15N-NMR studies.

Copper(II) bis-perfluoropinacolate complex for electrochemical reduction of nitrate in water

250th National Meeting (2015)

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