6-Halogenopyridin-2-olato complexes with the diruthenium(2+) core: Equilibria between head-to-head and head-to-tail structures

Computational Analysis of Low Overpotential Ammonia Oxidation by Metal-Metal Bonded Ruthenium Catalysts, and Predictions for Related Osmium Catalysts

The catalyzed electrochemical oxidation of ammonia to nitrogen (AOR) is an important fuel-cell half-reaction that underpins a future nitrogen-based energy economy. Our laboratory has reported spontaneous chemical and electrochemical oxidation of ammonia to dinitrogen via reaction of ammonia with the metal-metal bonded diruthenium complex Ru2(chp)4OTf (chp- = 2-chloro-6-hydroxypyridinate, TfO- = trifluoromethanesulfonate). This complex facilitates electrocatalytic ammonia oxidation at mild applied potentials of -255 mV vs ferrocene, which is the [Ru2(chp)4(NH3)]0/+ redox potential. We now report a comprehensive computational investigation of possible mechanisms for this reaction and electronic structure analysis of key intermediates therein. We extend this analysis to proposed second-generation electrocatalysts bearing structurally similar fhp and hmp (2-fluoro-6-hydroxypyridinate and 2-hydroxy-6-methylpyridinate, respectively) equatorial ligands, and we further expand this study from Ru2 to analogous Os2 cores. Predicted M24+/5+ redox potentials, which we expect to correlate with experimental AOR overpotential, depend strongly on the identity of the metal center, and to a lesser degree on the nature of the equatorial supporting ligand. Os2 complexes are easier to oxidize than analogous Ru2 complexes by ∼640 mV, on average. In contrast to mono-Ru catalysts, which oxidize ammonia via a rate-limiting activation of the strong N-H bond, we find lowest-energy reaction pathways for Ru2 and Os2 complexes that involve direct N-N bond formation onto electrophilic intermediates having terminal amido, imido, or nitrido groups. While transition state energies for Os2 complexes are high, those for Ru2 complexes are moderate and notably lower than those for mono-Ru complexes. We attribute these lower barriers to enhanced electrophilicity of the Ru2 intermediates, which is a consequence of their metal-metal bonded structure. Os2 intermediates are found to be, surprisingly, less electrophilic, and we suggest that Os2 complexes may require access to oxidation states higher than Os25+ in order to perform AOR at reasonable reaction rates.

Alkali metal complexes of 6-methyl-2-pyridone: simple formulae, but not so simple structures

Reaction of 6-methyl-2-pyridone (Hmhp) with Na or K metal, or with Rb or Cs 2-ethylhexoxide, in an appropriate single or mixed solvent, yields a series of solvated polymeric complexes with the empirical formulae M(mhp)(H2O)2 [(1), M = Na; (2), M = K], M(mhp)(H2O) [(3), M = Rb; (4), M = Cs] and Cs(mhp)(ROH) [(5), R = Me; (6), R = Et]. All of the products have been crystallographically characterized and show sheet polymeric structures, except for a double-chain structure for (2). In all of the structures, mhp(-) and solvent molecules function as bridging ligands; two metal ions are bridged (μ2) by each solvent molecule in (1), (5) and (6), while (2) contains both μ2 and μ3 triple bridges, and (3) and (4) display highly unusual μ4 quadruple bridging of metal ions by water molecules. The pyridonate O atom bridges two or three metal ions in each case. Nitrogen is also involved in coordination to the heavier metals; it bonds to a single ion in (3) and (4), but has an almost unprecedented bridging role in (5) and (6). As a result of the extensive bridging by ligands, coordination numbers between 6 and 8 are achieved for the metal ions. In each structure, all solvent OH groups form hydrogen bonds to pyridonate O and, in some cases, N atoms. With one exception, these are the first reported pyridonate complexes of the alkali metals Na-Cs that do not also include transition metals.