The synthesis of new transition metal complexes with earth abundant metals has been on the rise as they have a variety of potential applications as catalysts. Given the continual rise of greenhouse gas levels, CO2 capture and reduction into other useful chemicals is an important area of study. Since CO2 is a relatively inert molecule, a catalyst is required to overcome high activation barriers for binding and reduction. Additionally, metal complexes can be used to catalyze the oxidation of dihydrogen. As hydrogen fuel cells only produce heat and water as byproducts, hydrogen is a clean alternative energy source when compared to the combustion of fossil fuels. However, the controlled oxidation of H2 also requires a catalyst. When ligands with pendant bases are used, the resulting complexes can exhibit proton relay chemistry, which lowers the thermodynamic and kinetic barriers for this oxidation. Based on the importance of both of these processes, our laboratory has begun to study first row transition metal complexes that could be suitable for either CO2 reduction or H2 oxidation. Specifically, we are looking to biology for enzyme-inspired ligands for first row metals that provide a greener alternative for these important applications than the more typical precious metal catalysts. Our lab will prepare new metal complexes that contain pendant bases and study them using electrochemical methods to test their effectiveness. Our initial results towards these goals will be presented.

Design and synthesis of earth abundant metal complexes for the activation of CO2 and H2

ACS Spring 2022

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