Cobalt catalyst hits 99% yield without precious metals

Researchers at Yokohama National University developed a cobalt electrocatalyst that converts pyridine to piperidine with over 99% yield under ambient electrolysis. Performance depends on balancing metallic Co(0) and cobalt oxide CoOx; gram-scale conversion reached 89%.

• Catalyst made from cobalt sulfate and calcined at 750 °C, tested in an anion-exchange membrane electrolyzer
• Pyridine-to-piperidine yield exceeded 99%, reaching 89% at gram scale
• Catalyst also hydrogenates quinolines, pyrazines, nitriles and nitroarenes
• Approach reduces reliance on scarce platinum-group metals