Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Bimetallic cooperativity and synergistic effects have emerged as powerful tools that can enhance the reactivity and selectivity of catalytic systems, offering a pathway toward the development of catalysts based on Earth-abundant elements. Although not uncommon in nature, discrete molecular systems featuring more than two cooperative metal sites are virtually unknown. Herein we report the design of a well-defined molecular heterotrimetallic [Ga 2 Ni] system, which is effective in alkene hydrogenation catalysis. Species representing ‘snapshots’ of the catalytic cycle are isolated through consecutive addition of ethylene and dihydrogen, allowing for in-depth experimental mechanistic elucidation of two sequential 2-electron oxidative processes. Alongside combined computational, kinetic, and isotopic labeling studies, these findings reveal a fully mapped hydrogenation mechanism in which all three metal sites partake in the alkene hydrogenation process. This system thus provides unique insights into cooperative molecular multimetallic catalysis and establishes a blueprint for rationally designed multicentered cooperativity beyond established diatomic concepts.
DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c15492
Language: English
Subfield: Organic Chemistry
Field: Chemistry
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
OpenAlex ID: W4417047413