Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Tandem copper hydride–Lewis pair catalysed reduction of carbon dioxide into formate with dihydrogen

Journal Article · · Nature Catalysis

The reduction of CO2 into formic acid or its conjugate base, using dihydrogen, is an attractive process. While catalysts based on noble metals have shown high turnover numbers, the use of abundant first-row metals is underdeveloped. The key steps of the reaction are CO2 insertion into a metal hydride and regeneration of the metal hydride with H2, along with the concomitant production of formate. For the first step, copper is known as one of the most efficient metals, as shown by the numerous copper-catalysed carboxylation reactions, but this metal has difficulties activating H2 to achieve the second step. In this work, we report a catalytic system involving a stable copper hydride that activates CO2, working in tandem with a Lewis pair that heterolytically splits H2. In this system, unprecedented turnover numbers for copper are obtained. Surprisingly, through a combination of stoichiometric and catalytic reactions, we show that classical Lewis pairs outperform frustrated Lewis pairs in this process.

Research Organization:
Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22); Solvay Inc., Brussels (Belgium); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0009376
OSTI ID:
1594482
Journal Information:
Nature Catalysis, Journal Name: Nature Catalysis Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 1; ISSN 2520-1158
Publisher:
Springer NatureCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (56)

Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide to Formate Catalyzed by a Copper/1,8-Diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene System journal April 2015
Stable Cyclic (Alkyl)(Amino)Carbenes as Rigid or Flexible, Bulky, Electron-Rich Ligands for Transition-Metal Catalysts: A Quaternary Carbon Atom Makes the Difference journal September 2005
Intramolecular “Hydroiminiumation” of Alkenes: Application to the Synthesis of Conjugate Acids of Cyclic Alkyl Amino Carbenes (CAACs) journal April 2007
Non-Metal-Mediated Homogeneous Hydrogenation of CO2 to CH3OH journal November 2009
Low-Pressure Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide Catalyzed by an Iron Pincer Complex Exhibiting Noble Metal Activity journal September 2011
Bonding and Reactivity of a μ-Hydrido Dicopper Cation journal October 2013
Air-Stable (CAAC)CuCl and (CAAC)CuBH 4 Complexes as Catalysts for the Hydrolytic Dehydrogenation of BH 3 NH 3 journal March 2015
Spectroscopic Evidence for a Monomeric Copper(I) Hydride and Crystallographic Characterization of a Monomeric Silver(I) Hydride journal March 2017
Accessing Frustrated Lewis Pair Chemistry from a Spectroscopically Stable and Classical Lewis Acid-Base Adduct journal April 2018
Stable Cyclic (Alkyl)(Amino)Carbenes as Rigid or Flexible, Bulky, Electron-Rich Ligands for Transition-Metal Catalysts: A Quaternary Carbon Atom Makes the Difference journal September 2005
Intramolecular “Hydroiminiumation” of Alkenes: Application to the Synthesis of Conjugate Acids of Cyclic Alkyl Amino Carbenes (CAACs) journal April 2007
Reversible Metal-Free Carbon Dioxide Binding by Frustrated Lewis Pairs journal August 2009
Frustrated Lewis Pairs: Metal-free Hydrogen Activation and More journal December 2009
Non-Metal-Mediated Homogeneous Hydrogenation of CO2 to CH3OH journal December 2009
Low-Pressure Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide Catalyzed by an Iron Pincer Complex Exhibiting Noble Metal Activity journal September 2011
Bonding and Reactivity of a μ-Hydrido Dicopper Cation journal October 2013
Air-Stable (CAAC)CuCl and (CAAC)CuBH 4 Complexes as Catalysts for the Hydrolytic Dehydrogenation of BH 3 NH 3 journal March 2015
Experimental and Computational Studies of the Copper Borate Complexes [(NHC)Cu(HBEt 3 )] and [(NHC)Cu(HB(C 6 F 5 ) 3 )] journal November 2016
Spectroscopic Evidence for a Monomeric Copper(I) Hydride and Crystallographic Characterization of a Monomeric Silver(I) Hydride journal March 2017
Cyclic (Alkyl)(amino)carbenes (CAACs): Recent Developments journal June 2017
Accessing Frustrated Lewis Pair Chemistry from a Spectroscopically Stable and Classical Lewis Acid-Base Adduct journal April 2018
Synthesis of a Room-Temperature-Stable Dimeric Copper(I) Hydride journal October 2010
Intramolecular “Hydroiminiumation” of Alkenes: Application to the Synthesis of Conjugate Acids of Cyclic Alkyl Amino Carbenes (CAACs). journal August 2007
Editorial journal December 2016
Boron-mediated activation of carbon dioxide journal February 2016
CO 2 Hydrogenation to Formate and Methanol as an Alternative to Photo- and Electrochemical CO 2 Reduction journal August 2015
Main Group Lewis Acid-Mediated Transformations of Transition-Metal Hydride Complexes journal May 2016
Coinage Metal Hydrides: Synthesis, Characterization, and Reactivity journal June 2016
Challenges in the Greener Production of Formates/Formic Acid, Methanol, and DME by Heterogeneously Catalyzed CO 2 Hydrogenation Processes journal May 2017
Homogeneous Catalysis for Sustainable Hydrogen Storage in Formic Acid and Alcohols journal October 2017
Synthesis and Reactivity of New Copper(I) Hydride Dimers journal February 2016
A Molecular Copper Catalyst for Hydrogenation of CO 2 to Formate journal August 2015
From Classical Adducts to Frustrated Lewis Pairs: Steric Effects in the Interactions of Pyridines and B(C 6 F 5 ) 3 journal November 2009
A Cobalt-Based Catalyst for the Hydrogenation of CO 2 under Ambient Conditions journal July 2013
Bottleable (Amino)(Carboxy) Radicals Derived from Cyclic (Alkyl)(Amino) Carbenes journal December 2013
Isolation of Neutral Mononuclear Copper Complexes Stabilized by Two Cyclic (Alkyl)(amino)carbenes journal April 2014
Catalytic Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide Using Ir(III)−Pincer Complexes journal October 2009
The Janus Face of the X Ligand in the Copper-Catalyzed Azide–Alkyne Cycloaddition journal December 2015
Triphosphine-Ligated Copper Hydrides for CO 2 Hydrogenation: Structure, Reactivity, and Thermodynamic Studies journal August 2016
Bicyclic (Alkyl)(amino)carbenes (BICAACs): Stable Carbenes More Ambiphilic than CAACs journal June 2017
Heterolytic Cleavage of H 2 by Frustrated B/N Lewis Pairs journal April 2011
Frustrated Lewis Pair Behavior of Intermolecular Amine/B(C 6 F 5 ) 3 Pairs journal March 2012
Using carbon dioxide as a building block in organic synthesis journal January 2015
Unravelling structure sensitivity in CO2 hydrogenation over nickel journal January 2018
IPr* an easily accessible highly hindered N-heterocyclic carbene journal January 2010
Homogeneous catalytic reduction of CO 2 with hydrosilanes journal January 2014
Intramolecular B/N frustrated Lewis pairs and the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide journal January 2015
A kinetic study on the reduction of CO 2 by frustrated Lewis pairs: from understanding to rational design journal January 2016
Iron catalyzed CO 2 hydrogenation to formate enhanced by Lewis acid co-catalysts journal January 2015
Copper-catalyzed carboxylation reactions using carbon dioxide journal January 2016
Carbon dioxide hydrogenation catalysed by well-defined Mn( i ) PNP pincer hydride complexes journal January 2017
A general synthetic route to [Cu(X)(NHC)] (NHC = N-heterocyclic carbene, X = Cl, Br, I) complexes journal January 2013
Reversible, Metal-Free Hydrogen Activation journal November 2006
The broadening reach of frustrated Lewis pair chemistry journal December 2016
Catalytic Fixation of Carbon Dioxide to Formic acid by Transition-Metal Complexes Under mild Conditions journal August 1976
Synthesis of an extremely sterically shielding N-heterocyclic carbene ligand journal January 2012

Cited By (11)

Hydrogenation of CO 2 to Formate with H 2 : Transition Metal Free Catalyst Based on a Lewis Pair journal November 2018
Hydrogenation of CO 2 to Formate with H 2 : Transition Metal Free Catalyst Based on a Lewis Pair journal December 2018
Facially Dispersed Polyhydride Cu 9 and Cu 16 Clusters Comprising Apex‐Truncated Supertetrahedral and Square‐Face‐Capped Cuboctahedral Copper Frameworks journal December 2019
Mechanistic Studies on the Insertion of Carbonyl Substrates into Cu‐H: Different Rate‐Limiting Steps as a Function of Electrophilicity journal March 2020
Hydrogenation of CO 2 to Formate with H 2 : Transition Metal Free Catalyst Based on a Lewis Pair journal November 2018
Facially Dispersed Polyhydride Cu 9 and Cu 16 Clusters Comprising Apex‐Truncated Supertetrahedral and Square‐Face‐Capped Cuboctahedral Copper Frameworks journal February 2020
Mechanistic Studies on the Insertion of Carbonyl Substrates into Cu‐H: Different Rate‐Limiting Steps as a Function of Electrophilicity journal March 2020
Release of Formic Acid from Copper Formate: Hydride, Proton‐Coupled Electron and Hydrogen Atom Transfer All Play their Role journal April 2019
Copper hydride clusters in energy storage and conversion journal January 2019
Metal-free imidazolium hydrogen carbonate ionic liquids as bifunctional catalysts for the one-pot synthesis of cyclic carbonates from olefins and CO 2 journal January 2019
CO2 Capture and in situ Catalytic Transformation journal July 2019


Similar Records

Hydride transfer and dihydrogen elimination from osmium and ruthenium metalloporphyrin hydrides: Model processes for hydrogenase enzymes and the hydrogen electrode reaction
Journal Article · Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1992 · Journal of the American Chemical Society · OSTI ID:229931

Reversible Heterolytic Cleavage of the H-H Bond by Molybdenum Complexes: Controlling the Dynamics of Exchange Between Proton and Hydride
Journal Article · Thu May 18 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Journal of the American Chemical Society · OSTI ID:1364010

Reversible Heterolytic Cleavage of the H–H Bond by Molybdenum Complexes: Controlling the Dynamics of Exchange Between Proton and Hydride
Journal Article · Wed May 03 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Journal of the American Chemical Society · OSTI ID:1842947