title: The role of free N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) in the catalytic dehydrogenation of ammonia-borane in the nickel NHC system.
abstract: Enders' N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) dehydrogenates ammonia-borane with a relatively low barrier, producing NH(2)BH(2) and NHC-(H)(2). The nickel NHC catalyst present in the reaction media can activate the NHC-(H)(2) produced to regenerate the free NHC and release H(2). The release of free NHC enables further dehydrogenation of ammonia-borane.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: Ankan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Charles B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Musgrave