Homogeneous hydrogenation of saturated bicarbonate slurry to formates using multiphase catalysis

Formic acid and formate salts are key intermediates along the pathways for CO2 utilization and hydrogen storage. Herein we report a highly efficient multiphase catalytic system utilizing a ruthenium PNP pincer catalyst for converting supersaturated bicarbonate solutions and slurries to aqueous formate solutions up to 12 M in molarity. The biphasic catalytic system delivers turnover frequencies up to 73 000 h−1 and remains stable for up to 474 000 turnovers once reaction conditions are optimized.