Towards a Practical Setup for Hydrogen Production from Formic Acid

Formic acid cracker: A mini plant that allows for continuous formic acid decomposition to hydrogen and carbon dioxide under ambient conditions is presented. By using an in situ-formed ruthenium catalyst, unprecedented turnover numbers over 1 000 000 are achieved. The active catalyst is formed in situ from commercially available [RuCl2(benzene)]2 and 1,2-bisdiphenylphosphinoethane.