Side-on End-on Bound Dinitrogen: An Activated Bonding Mode That Facilitates Functionalizing Molecular Nitrogen

作者：Michael D. Fryzuk · 发表于：Accounts of Chemical Research · 年份：2008 · DOI：10.1021/ar800061g · 被引用次数：209 · 研究领域：Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction、Metalloenzymes and iron-sulfur proteins、Asymmetric Hydrogenation and Catalysis

Molecular nitrogen is the source of all of the nitrogen necessary to sustain life on this planet. How it is incorporated into the biosphere is complicated by its intrinsic inertness. For example, biological nitrogen fixation takes N(2) and converts it into ammonia using various nitrogenase enzymes, whereas industrial nitrogen fixation converts N(2) and H(2) to NH(3) using heterogeneous iron or ruthenium surfaces. In both cases, the processes are energy-intensive. Is it possible to discover a homogeneous catalyst that can convert molecular nitrogen into higher-value organonitrogen compounds using a less energy-intensive pathway? If this could be achieved, it would be considered a major breakthrough in this area. In contrast to carbon monoxide, which is reactive and an important feedstock in many homogeneous catalytic reactions, the isoelectronic but inert N(2) molecule is a very poor ligand and not a common industrial feedstock, except for the above-mentioned industrial production of NH(3). Because N(2) is readily available from the atmosphere and because nitrogen is an essential element for the biosphere, attempts to discover new processes involving this simple small molecule have occupied chemists for over a century. Since the first discovery of a dinitrogen complex in 1965, inorganic chemists have been key players in this area and have contributed much fundamental knowledge on structures, binding modes, and reactivity patterns. For the most part, the synthesis of dinitrogen...