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Updated: Apr 9, 2026

A Simple, Low-cost, and Robust System to Measure the Volume of Hydrogen Evolved by Chemical Reactions with Aqueous Solutions
Published on: August 17, 2016
Can main group systems act as superior catalysts for dihydrogen generation reactions? A computational investigation
Nishamol Kuriakose1, Kumar Vanka1
1National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune -411008, Maharashtra, India. k.vanka@ncl.res.in.
Abstract:
The protolytic cleavage of the O-H bond in water and alcohols is a very important reaction, and an important method for producing dihydrogen. Full quantum chemical studies with density functional theory (DFT) reveal that germanium based complexes, such as HC{CMeArB}2GeH (Ar = 2,6-(i)Pr2C6H3), with the assistance of silicon based compounds such as SiF3H, can perform significantly better than the existing state-of-the-art post-transition metal based systems for catalyzing dihydrogen generation from water and alcohols through the protolysis reaction.
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