This paper details a next-generation
Co(I)-based hydrogen energy
carrier (H2EC) that can readily extract one electron from
hydrogen, store the electron for more than 3 months, and use the electron
elsewhere when needed. It is noteworthy that the ability of the Co(I)
complex to perform reductive coupling is much higher than that of
a similar Ni(I) complex that we recently reported. Three X-ray structures
are presented: the Co(II) complex before reaction with H2, the Co(I) complex after reaction with H2 (i.e., the
H2EC), and a Co(III) chloromethyl complex formed by oxidative
addition of dichloromethane to the Co(I) complex.