Ethanol is a renewable feedstock stream, and thus, a highly attractive source of carbon building blocks (≥C2). Hydrogen transfer catalysis represents a promising strategy to build complexity from simple alcohols because the dehydrogenated product is typically highly reactive. Our group has explored a series of pincer-templated ruthenium complexes as highly active catalysts for dehydrogenative coupling and/or Guerbet-type reactivity. These reactions all rely on reversible hydrogen transfer reactions with alcohol substrates. This presentation will outline ongoing efforts to rationally modify (de)hydrogenation catalysts in order to enable transformations of bio-renewable feedstocks into fuels or value-added chemicals. Mechanistic studies will be discussed within the context of catalyst speciation. Specific examples will be described where ligand redesign provides new opportunities to tune reactivity and/or impart light harvesting characteristics. The latter attribute is being explored within the context of photochemically-driven hydrogen transfer catalysis to enhance reaction rates and/or change catalytic selectivity.

Ligand redesign to improve ethanol upgrading using ruthenium catalysts

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.