Formic acid/amine, dehydrogenation

With respect to hydrogen production from formic acid, the described studies demonstrate the progress concerning improvement of reaction conditions, selectivity and dehydrogenation rates in different media, i.e. presence of water, additives (formate, amines), or ILs. Important insights into the mechanism of activation of FA by metal, metal-ligand cooperativity as well as EL-assisted catalysis were... 

The Shvo catalyst 1 can participate in the transfer of hydrogen from one molecule to another. Such hydrogen transfer reactions are useful in synthetic organic chemistry for the reduction of ketones (aldehydes) and imines, and for the oxidation of alcohols and amines. In the former case (transfer hydrogenation), a hydrogen donor such as isopropanol or formic acid is used, which reduces the carbonyl compound or imine to alcohol or amine, respectively. In the oxidation of alcohols and amines (transfer dehydrogenation), a hydrogen acceptor such as acetone or a quinone is used. 

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