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Wiedner, Eric S.

Publications and source records attributed to Wiedner, Eric S..

12 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Thermodynamic and Kinetic Activity Descriptors for the Catalytic Hydrogenation of Ketones

Activity descriptors are a powerful tool for the design of catalysts than can efficiently utilize H 2 with minimal energy losses. In this study, we develop the use of hydricity and H - self-exchange rates as thermodynamic and kinetic descriptors for the hydrogenation of ketones by molecular catalysts. Two complexes with known hydricity, HRh(dmpe) 2 and HCo(dmpe) 2 , were investigated for the catalytic hydrogenation of ketones under mild conditions (1.5 atm, 25 °C). The rhodium catalyst proved to be an efficient catalyst for a wide range of ketones, whereas the cobalt catalyst could only hydrogenate electron-deficient ketones. Using a combination of experiment and electronic structure theory, thermodynamic hydricity values were established for 46 alkoxide/ketone pairs in both MeCN and THF solvent. Through comparison of the hydricities of the catalysts and substrates, it was determined that catalysis was only observed for catalyst/ketone pairs with an exergonic H - transfer step. Mechanistic studies revealed that H - transfer was rate-limiting step for catalysis, allowing for the experimental and computation construction of linear free-energy relationships (LFERs) for H - transfer. Further analysis revealed the LFERs could be reproduced using Marcus theory, in which the H - self-exchange rates for the HRh/Rh + and ketone/alkoxide pairs were used to predict the experimentally measured catalytic barriers within 2 kcal mol -1 . Finally, these studies significantly expand the scope of catalytic reactions that can be analyzed with a thermodynamic hydricity descriptor and firmly establish Marcus theory as a valid approach to develop kinetic descriptors for designing catalysts for H - transfer reactions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Machine Learning for Prediction of Thermodynamic Descriptors

Our objective is to apply machine learning (ML) algorithms for the prediction of molecular catalysis descriptors from geometric properties derived from experimental crystallographic databases. Catalysis is often considered a “low-data” discipline that is poorly suited for ML methods. An exception is the extensive structural information that is available for molecular catalysts through the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD), which contains atomically precise molecular structures from X-ray diffraction analysis for >600K metal complexes. As a proof-of-principle, we targeted the prediction of hydricity, a thermodynamic property that provides understanding and control of catalytic hydride transfer. We built a training set composed of ~100 molecular complexes with a known hydricity and structural information from the CSD. This data set was converted into a machine-readable format using the smooth overlap of atomic positions (SOAP) representation and further labeled with simple electronic descriptors for the metal centers. Multiple different neural networks were trained on this data set, and the accuracy of the hydricity predictions ranged from < 2 kcal/mol to 20 kcal/mol. The accuracy of each model was highly sensitive to which compounds were in the train versus test set, underscoring the challenges associated with small and chemically diverse data sets. Finally, to further augment the data set, we attempted to experimentally measure several new hydricity values, however these experiments were unsuccessful due to undesired chemical reactivity of the selected complexes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Molecular Catalysts with Diphosphine Ligands Containing Pendant Amines

Pendant amines play an invaluable role in chemical reactivity, especially for molecular catalysts based on Earth-abundant metals. As inspired by [FeFe]-hydrogenases, which contain a pendant amine positioned for cooperative bifunctionality, synthetic catalysts have been developed to emulate this multifunctionality through incorporation of a pendant amine in the second coordination sphere. Cyclic diphosphine ligands containing two amines serve as the basis for a class of catalysts that have been extensively studied and used to demonstrate the impact of a pendant base. These 1,5-diaza-3,7-diphosphacyclooctanes, now often referred to as “P 2 N 2 ” ligands, have profound effects on the reactivity of many catalysts. The resulting [Ni(P R 2 N R ´ 2 ) 2 ] 2+ complexes are electrocatalysts for both the oxidation and production of H 2 . Achieving the optimal benefit of the pendant amine requires that it has suitable basicity and is properly positioned relative to the metal center. In addition to the catalytic efficacy demonstrated with [Ni(P R 2 N R ´ 2 )2] 2+ complexes for the oxidation and production of H2, catalysts with diphosphine ligands containing pendant amines have also be demonstrated for a variety of metals for many different reactions, both in solution and immobilized on surfaces. Here, the impact of pendant amines in catalyst design has been demonstrated and continues to expand.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Role of High-Spin Species and Pendant Amines in Electrocatalytic Alcohol Oxidation by a Nickel Phosphine Complex

We report the development of active and efficient electrocatalysts for oxidation of alcohols using earth-abundant metals will aid the progress towards a renewable energy economy. Here we present a detailed mechanistic study of electrocatalytic benzyl alcohol oxidation by a molecular nickel complex containing pendant amines using a combination of kinetic studies, NMR spectroscopy, and density functional theory. The catalyst preferentially binds alcohol in high-spin octahedral geometry, but this complex is not readily deprotonated by exogeneous base and inhibits catalysis. Dissociation of one or more solvent ligands returns the complex to a low-spin state that can be deprotonated. Kinetic modeling indicates the off-cycle high-spin intermediate lowers the catalytic turnover frequency by a factor of eight, suggesting that substantial gains in activity can be attained by improvements to the catalyst coordination geometry. In a second finding, we demonstrate the pendant amine of the catalyst only functions as a proton relay for the potential-determining step, oxidation of a nickel hydride intermediate, but does not have a substantial impact on the overall rate for oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde. This result contradicts the common expectation for pendant amines to participate in rate-limiting proton transfer reactions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Coordination Chemistry of Phosphine Ligands with Pendant Amines

Phosphine ligands with pendant amines have played an important role in the development of molecular electrocatalyst for H2 oxidation and production and for other potential energy storage and utilization reactions, such as CO2 and O2 reduction and NH3 oxidation. The pendant amines facilitate substrate binding, heterolytic bond cleavage and formation, intra- and intermolecular proton transfers, the formation of dihydrogen and hydrogen bonds, and provide a physical mechanism for coupling electron and proton transfer reactions. The structures of the phosphine ligands determine the ability of the pendant amines to participate in these different catalytic steps and the stability of the electrocatalysts as they are cycled between different oxidation states. These different features are illustrated by a detailed comparison of Mn, Fe, and Ni electrocatalysts for H2 oxidation that contain diphosphine ligands with pendant amines.

Phosphine, amines, electrocatalyst, dihydrogen, me↗
DOE OSTI2021

Thermodynamic Trends for Reduction of CO by Molecular Complexes

Selective reduction of CO 2 into fuels and chemical feedstocks is highly desirable to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Most molecular catalysts afford 2e – reduction products, such as CO or HCO 2 – , as opposed to more reduced products. Here we present an analysis of the thermodynamic limitations for reduction of the CO ligand in the form of a series of isostructural group 6 carbonyl complexes, Cp*M(CO) 3 (P(OMe) 3 ) + (M = Cr, Mo, and W). Additionally, the free energy for stepwise transfer of a hydride (H – ) and a proton (H + ) to the CO ligand, resulting in a hydroxycarbene (CHOH) complex, was measured by equilibration with H – /H + donors and acceptors with known hydricity or acidity. Together, these two reaction steps are equivalent to a net addition of H 2 across the CO ligand. A large and unfavorable free energy for H 2 addition (Δ G ° H2 ) was measured for all three complexes and decreases in the order Cr > Mo > W. The trend for these complexes is opposite to the trend previously reported for group 7 carbonyl complexes, for which Δ G ° H2 decreases moving up the group, Re > Mn. Computational analysis indicates the trends can be described in terms of electrostatic effects, where a low Δ G ° H2 is obtained in complexes that balance the atomic charges of the M–C≡O fragment of the complex. These findings can be used to design metal carbonyl complexes with a more energetically accessible H 2 addition, which will facilitate the development of molecular catalysts for reduction of CO.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Artificial Photosynthesis with Next Generation Molecular Catalysts

The objective of this project was to develop a new class of molecular photocatalysts for CO 2 reduction that will enable breakthrough advances in artificial photosynthesis. A major limitation of existing photocatalytic assemblies is that only a small fraction of absorbed photons are converted into fuel due to inefficiencies in electron transport between the different system components. In the case of molecular catalysts for reduction of CO 2 , highly reducing electron equivalents are required for catalysis. As a result, the electron flux between the photosensitizer and CO 2 reduction catalyst is heavily biased towards the photosensitizer. One method to direct the electron flux towards productive photocatalysis is to design molecular catalysts for CO 2 reduction that operate at more favorable potentials than existing catalysts. The conventional approach is to tune the potential of the catalyst through selection of the supporting ligands, however, this only leads to incremental improvements due to the existence of an unfavorable scaling relationship between the rate and potential of catalysis. Our hypothesis is that the catalytic rate and potential can be simultaneously enhanced using bimetallic catalysts in which one metal improves the potential of catalysis and the second metal increases the rate of catalysis. During the course of this project, a few studies reported some success in improving photocatalytic CO 2 reduction with heterobimetallic complexes, demonstrating the potential of this approach to catalyst design.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Enhanced Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol by a Ruthenium Complex with a Charged Outer-Coordination Sphere

In this paper, we report the hydrogenation of CO₂ to MeOH by a new Ru(triphos) catalyst containing a cationic tetraalkylammonium moiety in the outer coordination sphere. This new catalyst affords superior TON and TOF values for MeOH in comparison to previously reported isostructural catalysts. Kinetic data from operando NMR spectroscopy studies indicate the improvement in MeOH production arises from a 12-fold enhancement in the rate for hydrogenation of the transient formaldehyde intermediate. These results provide insight into the catalyst characteristics that promote methanol formation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Mechanistic Studies on the Insertion of Carbonyl Substrates into Cu‐H: Different Rate‐Limiting Steps as a Function of Electrophilicity

Abstract We report mechanistic studies on the insertion reactions of [(NHC)Cu(μ‐H)] 2 complexes with carbonyl substrates by UV‐vis and 1 H NMR spectroscopic kinetic studies, H/D isotopic labelling, and X‐ray crystallography. The results of these comprehensive studies show that the insertion of Cu‐H with an aldehyde, ketone, activated ester/amide, and unactivated amide consist of two different rate limiting steps: the formation of Cu‐H monomer from Cu‐H dimer for more electrophilic substrates, and hydride transfer from a transient Cu‐H monomer for less electrophilic substrates. We also report spectroscopic and crystallographic characterization of rare Cu‐hemiacetalate and Cu‐hemiaminalate moieties from the insertion of an ester or amide into the Cu−H bond.

Tran, Ba L.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Cobalt-Group 13 Complexes Catalyze CO 2 Hydrogenation via a Co(-I)/Co(I) Redox Cycle

The Co(-I) dihydrogen complexes, [(η 2 -H 2 )CoML]-, where ML is the group 13 metalloligand, N(o-(NCH 2 PiPr 2 )C 6 H 4 ) 3 M, and M is Al, Ga, or In, were previously reported ( J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, 139, 6570-6573). In this work, the related Co(-I) end-on dinitrogen adducts, [(N 2 )CoML]-, were isolated and investigated as precatalysts for CO 2 hydrogenation. The Co–Ga catalyst was highly active, achieving 19,200 formate turnovers with an initial turnover frequency of 27,000 h –1 under 34 atm of 1:1 CO 2 /H 2 and using Verkade’s proazaphosphatrane as a base at ambient temperature. The Co–Al catalyst was moderately active, while the Co–In complex was inactive. Hence, tuning the group 13 ion greatly influences the catalytic activity at the Co site. To elucidate the role of the group 13 support, experimental and theoretical mechanistic studies of the Co–Ga and Co–Al catalysts were conducted. The Co(-I) H 2 species are potent hydride donors with estimated thermodynamic hydricities (ΔG° H– ) of 32.0(1) and 37.4(1) kcal/mol in CH 3 CN for M = Al and Ga, respectively. By acting as masked Co(I) dihydrides, the Co(-I) H 2 species operate via an unusual Co(-I)/Co(I) redox cycle. After hydride transfer to CO 2 , the resulting intermediate is the Co(I) hydride complex, HCoML, which was independently synthesized and structurally characterized for M = Al and Ga. The Gibbs free energy for H 2 binding, ΔG° bind (1 atm), to generate (η 2 -H 2 )HCoML was slightly more favorable for HCoGaL (-4.2(1) kcal/mol) than for HCoAlL (-2.7(1) kcal/mol). In the subsequent step, the deprotonation reaction to regenerate the initial catalyst was much more favorable for (η 2 -H 2 )HCoGaL (pK a of 31.4, CH 3 CN) than for (η 2 -H 2 )HCoAlL (pK a of 34.3). Finally, the straightforward substitution of Al with Ga perturbs the energy profile of the catalytic reaction (|ΔΔG° H– | = 5.4 kcal/mol, |ΔΔG° bind | = 1.5 kcal/mol, and |ΔΔG° K a | = 4.0 kcal/mol) and thus provides a thermodynamic rationale for the higher catalytic efficiency of Co–Ga over Co–Al.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Mechanistic Studies on the Insertion of Carbonyl Substrates into Cu-H: Different Rate-Limiting Steps as a Function of Electrophilicity

In this paper, we report mechanistic studies on the insertion reactions of [(NHC)Cu(H)] 2 complexes with carbonyl substrates by UV-vis and 1 H NMR spectroscopic kinetic studies, H/D isotopic labelling, and X-ray crystallography. The results of these comprehensive studies show that the insertion of Cu-H with an aldehyde, ketone, activated ester/amide, and unactivated amide consist of two different rate limiting steps: the formation of Cu-H monomer from Cu-H dimer for more electrophilic substrates and hydride transfer from a transient Cu-H monomer for less electrophilic substrates. We also report spectroscopic and crystallographic characterization of rare Cu-hemiacetalate and Cu-hemiaminalate moieties from the insertion of an ester and amide into the Cu-H bond.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗