Lewis Acid‐Assisted Molybdenum(VI) Complexes with S, N‐bidentate Ligands to Reduce Nitrate

Two readily‐accessible molybdenum complexes with low sterically hindered S, N‐bidentate ligands were designed for the reduction of nitrate to nitrite. The Lewis acid Sc(III) acted as a significant co‐catalyst to enhance the catalytic efficiency by activating the N−O bond of nitrate. This study indicates that molybdenum complexes in cooperation with a Lewis acid offer functional Mo‐catalyst systems, which present functional artificial models of the natural molybdenum enzymes. Two new Mo‐complexes with N, S‐bidentate ligands were synthesized, and show good catalytic activity in the reduction of nitrate to nitrite. The addition of Lewis acid Sc(III) significantly accelerated the cycle rate of the Mo‐catalyst.