A rechargeable hydrogen battery based on Ru catalysis.

Apart from energy generation, the storage and liberation of energy are among the major problems in establishing a sustainable energy supply chain. Herein we report the development of a rechargeable H2 battery which is based on the principle of the Ru-catalyzed hydrogenation of CO2 to formic acid (charging process) and the Ru-catalyzed decomposition of formic acid to CO2 and H2 (discharging process). Both processes are driven by the same catalyst at elevated temperature either under pressure (charging process) or pressure-free conditions (discharging process). Up to five charging-discharging cycles were performed without decrease of storage capacity. The resulting CO2/H2 mixture is free of CO and can be employed directly in fuel-cell technology.

Cooperative catalysis: electron-rich Fe-H complexes and DMAP, a successful "joint venture" for ultrafast hydrogen production.

A series of defined iron-hydrogen complexes was prepared in a straightforward one-pot approach. The structure and electronic properties of such complexes were investigated by means of quantum-chemical analysis. These new complexes were then applied in the dehydrogenative silylation of methanol. The complex (dppp)(CO)(NO)FeH showed a remarkable activity with a TOF of more than 600 000 h(-1) of pure hydrogen gas within seconds.