Development of an Iridium-Based Catalyst for High-Pressure Evolution of Hydrogen from Formic Acid

A highly efficient and recyclable Ir catalyst bearing a 4,7-dihydroxy-1,10-phenanthroline ligand was developed for the evolution of high-pressure H₂ gas (>100 MPa), and a large amount of atmospheric pressure H₂ gas (>120 L), over a long term (3.5 months). The reaction proceeds through the dehydrogenation of highly concentrated aqueous formic acid (FA, 40 vol %, 10 mol L^-1 ) at 80 °C using 1 μmol of catalyst, and a turnover number (TON) of 5 000 000 was calculated. The Ir catalyst precipitated after the reaction owing to its pH-dependent solubility in water, and 94 mol % was recovered by filtration. Thus, it can be treated and recycled like a heterogeneous catalyst. The catalyst was successfully recycled over 10 times for highpressure FA dehydrogenation at 22 MPa without any treatment or purification.