Organometallic catalysts are a promising tool for generating and storing alternative liquid fuels. Mechanistic investigations of such catalysts provide essential information for their design and development. In particular, isotope effect values are frequently measured to indicate standard mechanistic information such as a turnover limiting step. Occasionally, anomalously large H/D kinetic isotope effects are incidentally observed, and these are often attributed to proton tunneling mechanisms. In this work, organometallic systems for methane activation and hydrogen storage are established as case studies to investigate the source of anomalously large isotope effects, with an eventual goal of harnessing unusual reactivity for improved catalyst design.

Large isotope effects in organometallic reactions

2019 Fall National Meeting

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