NHC‐Coordinated Diphosphene‐Stabilized Gold(I) Hydride and Its Reversible Conversion to Gold(I) Formate with CO(2)

An NHC‐coordinated diphosphene is employed as ligand for the synthesis of a hydrocarbon‐soluble monomeric Au(I) hydride, which readily adds CO(2) at room temperature yielding the corresponding Au(I) formate. The reversible reaction can be expedited by the addition of NHC, which induces β‐hydride shift and the removal of CO(2) from equilibrium through the formation of an NHC‐CO(2) adduct. The Au(I) formate is alternatively formed by dehydrogenative coupling of the Au(I) hydride with formic acid (HCO(2)H), thus in total establishing a reaction sequence for the Au(I) hydride mediated dehydrogenation of HCO(2)H as chemical hydrogen storage material.