A Stable Nanocobalt Catalyst with Highly Dispersed CoNx Active Sites for the Selective Dehydrogenation of Formic Acid

Conghui Tang; Annette-Enrica Surkus; Feng Chen; Marga-Martina Pohl; Giovanni Agostini; Matthias Schneider; Henrik Junge; Matthias Beller

doi:10.1002/anie.201710766

A Stable Nanocobalt Catalyst with Highly Dispersed CoN_x Active Sites for the Selective Dehydrogenation of Formic Acid

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2017 Dec 22;56(52):16616-16620. doi: 10.1002/anie.201710766. Epub 2017 Nov 30.

Authors

Conghui Tang¹, Annette-Enrica Surkus¹, Feng Chen¹, Marga-Martina Pohl¹, Giovanni Agostini¹, Matthias Schneider¹, Henrik Junge¹, Matthias Beller¹

Affiliation

¹ Leibniz-Institut für Katalyse an der, Universität Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 29a, 18059, Rostock, Germany.

PMID: 29115056
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201710766

Abstract

Novel nanostructured catalysts with highly dispersed cobalt have been synthesized by the pyrolysis of metal phenanthroline complexes. Materials with significantly different properties were obtained by simply tuning the metal/ligand ratio. The catalytic potential of this class of compounds is shown by the first example of the dehydrogenation of formic acid under the catalysis of atomically dispersed cobalt. From TEM, XPS, and XRD characterization, KSCN poisoning, and acid leaching, the formation of CoN_x species as the active site seems key to the success of this reaction. Excellent stability and recyclability make this new catalyst also attractive for other applications.

Keywords: cobalt; dehydrogenation; energy storage; formic acid; heterogeneous catalysis.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't