Cooperative approaches in catalytic hydrogenation and dehydrogenation

Metal–ligand cooperativity (MLC) is an established strategy for developing effective hydrogenation and dehydrogenation catalysts. Metal–metal cooperativity (MMC) in bimetallic complexes is not as well understood, and to date has had limited implementation in (de)hydrogenation. Herein we use (de)hydrogenation processes as a platform to examine modes of cooperativity, with a particular focus on catalytic mechanisms. We investigate how lessons learnt from the extensive development of metal–ligand cooperative catalysts can aid the ongoing development of metal–metal cooperative catalysts.