Catalytic reduction of nitrate by an oxidorhenium (V) complex

An oxidorhenium(v) complex with an electron-withdrawing ligand: benefits and drawbacks for a dual role catalyst

One very unique feature of oxidorhenium(v) complexes is their dual catalytic activity in both reduction of stable oxyanions like perchlorate ClO4 - and nitrate NO3 - as well as epoxidation of olefins. In our ongoing research efforts, we were interested to study how an electron-withdrawing ligand would affect both these catalytic reactions. Hence, we synthesized the novel bidentate dimethyloxazoline-dichlorophenol ligand HL1 and synthesized oxidorhenium(v) complex [ReOCl(L1)2] (1). Then, catalytic experiments were conducted showing that non-redox epoxidation activity is indeed enhanced, but redox catalysis via oxygen atom transfer (OAT) activity was reduced for ClO4 - and NO3 - reductions. From one nitrate reduction experiment, a small amount of the singly-oxidized dioxidorhenium(vi) complex [ReO2(L1)] (2) could be isolated, confirming the successful reduction sequence of nitrate to nitrite NO2 - (2e- reduction) to NO (1e- reduction). Furthermore, ligand L1 displayed a richer than usually observed coordination chemistry, allowing for the isolation of complexes [ReOCl2(SMe2)(L1)] (trans-3a), [ReOCl2(OPPh3)(L1)] (3b) and [ReCl3(OPPh3)(L1)] (3c). Complexes 1 and 3a-b were tested in cyclooctene epoxidation, 1 was additionally investigated as an oxyanion reduction catalyst of perchlorate and nitrate. All compounds HL1, 1, 2 and 3a-c could be characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, besides other routine analyses.

Selective Reduction of Aqueous Nitrate to Ammonium with an Electropolymerized Chromium Molecular Catalyst

Nitrate (NO3-) is a common nitrogen-containing contaminant in agricultural, industrial, and low-level nuclear wastewater that causes significant environmental damage. In this work, we report a bioinspired Cr-based molecular catalyst incorporated into a redox polymer that selectively and efficiently reduces aqueous NO3- to ammonium (NH4+), a desirable value-added fertilizer component and industrial precursor, at rates of ∼0.36 mmol NH4+ mgcat-1 h-1 with >90% Faradaic efficiency for NH4+. The NO3- reduction reaction occurs through a cascade catalysis mechanism involving the stepwise reduction of NO3- to NH4+ via observed NO2- and NH2OH intermediates. To our knowledge, this is one of the first examples of a molecular catalyst, homogeneous or heterogenized, that is reported to reduce aqueous NO3- to NH4+ with rates and Faradaic efficiencies comparable to those of state-of-the-art solid-state electrocatalysts. This work highlights a promising and previously unexplored area of electrocatalyst research using polymer-catalyst composites containing complexes with oxophilic transition metal active sites for electrochemical nitrate remediation with nutrient recovery.

Inspired by Nature-Functional Analogues of Molybdenum and Tungsten-Dependent Oxidoreductases

Throughout the previous ten years many scientists took inspiration from natural molybdenum and tungsten-dependent oxidoreductases to build functional active site analogues. These studies not only led to an ever more detailed mechanistic understanding of the biological template, but also paved the way to atypical selectivity and activity, such as catalytic hydrogen evolution. This review is aimed at representing the last decade’s progress in the research of and with molybdenum and tungsten functional model compounds. The portrayed systems, organized according to their ability to facilitate typical and artificial enzyme reactions, comprise complexes with non-innocent dithiolene ligands, resembling molybdopterin, as well as entirely non-natural nitrogen, oxygen, and/or sulfur bearing chelating donor ligands. All model compounds receive individual attention, highlighting the specific novelty that each provides for our understanding of the enzymatic mechanisms, such as oxygen atom transfer and proton-coupled electron transfer, or that each presents for exploiting new and useful catalytic capability. Overall, a shift in the application of these model compounds towards uncommon reactions is noted, the latter are comprehensively discussed.