An unintended consequence of “feeding the planet,” via Haber-Bosch conversion of airborne nitrogen to ammonia fertilizer, is excess nitrate runoff which collects in lakes and coastal bays, leading to excessive algal growth, and eutrophication around the planet.  Nitrate is the new carbon dioxide.  This is an opportunity for an inorganic chemist to address a planetary problem with creative new redox catalysis.  The structural and bonding systematics of reduction of both nitrate and nitrite bound to earth abundant metals carrying pincer ligands will be described. The ready interconversion of different binding modes of nitrate will be demonstrated and redox inert zinc complexes will be contrasted to cobalt analogs.  Ligand design will contrast readily reduced tetrazine pincers with less readily reduced pyrazoles, which offer proton transfer potential.<br/>

Rebalancing the nitrogen cycle:  Earth-abundant metal reduction of nitrate with purpose-designed ligands

255th National Meeting (2018)

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