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Updated: Sep 17, 2025

Heterogeneous Removal of Water-Soluble Ruthenium Olefin Metathesis Catalyst from Aqueous Media Via Host-Guest Interaction
Published on: August 23, 2018
Electrocatalytic Ammonia Oxidation with Coordinatively Saturated Ruthenium Catalyst
Chuan-Pin Chen1, Oluwafemi Abubakar1, Xiaoyin Zhang1
1Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, 578 S Shaw Ln, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States.
Abstract:
This communication describes the investigation of a coordinatively saturated complex [Ru(tpy)(dmabpy)Cl]+ ([Ru(Cl)]+) as an ammonia oxidation catalyst. Cyclic voltammetry measurements show an ideal S-shaped wave, indicating total catalysis conditions with a kobs (TOFmax) of 9360 h-1. The reaction was found to be first-order in [Ru(Cl)]+ and third-order in [NH3]. Stoichiometric reactions of the one-electron oxidized species, [Ru(Cl)]2+, were monitored following the addition of 15NH3 using 1H and 15N NMR spectroscopy. These experiments showed that the chloride-coordinated complex rapidly converts NH3 to N2. NMR spectroscopy and electrochemistry results definitively show that NH3 does not substitute the Cl- ligand to form the previously reported [Ru(NH3)]2+ catalyst which operates by a different mechanistic pathway. Taken together these results indicate outersphere electron transfer mediated ammonia oxidation reaction.
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