Hydrogen Activation in Water by Organometallic Complexes

Hydrogen has found important applications as reducing agent for chemical transformations and is nowadays considered as one of the most promising energy vectors able to fuel devices to produce electricity on demand (direct hydrogen fuel cells). Crucial to its application is the understanding at the molecular level of how hydrogen interacts with (transition) metals which are commonly used as catalysts to lower the energy barrier to split the H2 molecule into its components and allow transfer and reactivity. In this chapter, selected examples of hydrogen activation by water-soluble organometallic complexes are summarized.