Heterolytic activation of hydrogen gas: New evidence for Spencer–Yu hypothesis!

Hydrogenolysis or deuterogenolysis of organolithium compounds is described for the first time under heterogeneous catalysis. This work establishes that the carbon–lithium bond can undergo a facile reduction reaction when catalyzed by palladium or platinum catalysts and provides strong evidence for the existence of Pdδ−–Hδ+ species.

Graphical abstractHydrogenolysis of organolithium reagents is described under heterogeneous catalysis in the presence of Pd0. This approach gives details about the H–H bond polarization in the presence of transition metal catalysts.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide