Thanks to a nickel complex, Utrecht researchers have discovered a new H₂ activation mechanism that they can follow experimentally, they write in Nature Chemistry.

Hydrogenation - a (catalytic) reaction in which you couple molecular hydrogen to unsaturated organic compounds - has applications in the margarine and petrochemical industries, and the reaction is also regularly found in the laboratory. However, H2 has to be activated first, and this is usually done with the later transition metals. The disadvantage is that they are scarce and expensive. María Sansores-Paredes, Martin Lutz and Marc-Etienne Moret from Utrecht University have now developed a nickel complex that provides a new hydrogen activation mechanism.