Dinitrogen Photoactivation: Status Quo and Future Perspectives

Vera Krewald

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

While the thermal activation of the dinitrogen molecule has been demonstrated in numerous examples with a variety of transition metals and ligand frameworks, the use of light to induce a weakening or splitting of the strong N-N bond is less well explored. Six complexes that bind N2 in a linear µ-η11-end-on fashion between two transition metals are known to cleave dinitrogen after absorbing a photon and relaxing from an electronically excited state. This Perspective article reviews the molecular complexes known to be capable of dinitrogen photocleavage, and discusses mechanistic insights into the photoactivation process gained from experimental and computational studies. In an extension of previous hypotheses for pathways to dinitrogen photoactivation that would facilitate easy protonation of the µ-N atoms, a scheme is presented that may help to identify other complexes that could be capable of dinitrogen photoactivation.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)10320-10329
JournalDalton Transactions
Volume47
Issue number31
Early online date3 May 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 21 Aug 2018

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Inorganic Chemistry

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