Science
105 Kinetics of H2 and Co2 Addition to a Ru Hydorgenation Catalyst That Converts Co2 to Formate
Gary Perea and Caroline T. Saouma (Chemistry)
Faculty Mentor: Caroline T. Saouma (Chemistry, University of Utah)
The hydrogenation of CO2 to formate is generally thought to proceed via CO2 insertion into a metal hydride. Indeed, (PNP)Ru(H)2(CO) readily inserts CO2 to give the corresponding (PNP)Ru(H)(CO)(OCHO) species (PNP = 2,6-bis(di-tert butylphosphinomethyl)pyridine). However, we have observed that the formate species can also be formed from addition of H2 to the ligand-bound CO2 species, (CO2-PNP)Ru(H)(CO). Given that ligand-bound CO2 species are generally regarded as detrimental to catalysis, we sought to determine the mechanism of formate production. Ongoing kinetic studies on H2 and CO2 addition to the pertinent Ru metal species are being utilized to deduce the exact catalytic mechanism that are relevant for H2 addition to carbonyl substrates.