Nickel is a Different Pickle: Trends in Water Oxidation Catalysis for Molecular Nickel Complexes.

The development of novel water oxidation catalysts is important in the context of renewable fuels production. Ligand design is one of the key tools to improve the activity and stability of molecular catalysts. The establishment of ligand design rules can facilitate the development of improved molecular catalysts.

On the Ability of Nickel Complexes Derived from Tripodal Aminopyridine Ligands to Catalyze Arene Hydroxylations.

The development of catalysts for the selective hydroxylation of aromatic C-H bonds is an essential challenge in current chemical research. The accomplishment of this goal requires the discovery of powerful metal-based oxidizing species capable of hydroxylating inert aromatic bonds in a selective manner, avoiding the generation of non-selective oxygen-centered radicals. Herein we show an investigation on the ability of nickel(ii) complexes supported by tripodal tetradentate aminopyridine ligands to catalyze the direct hydroxylation of benzene to phenol with H₂O₂ as oxidant.