EMI Series: The Reaction of HV(CO)4dppe with MoO3: a Well-Defined Model of Hydrogen Spillover

Hydrogen spillover is mechanistically poorly understood, due to the H▪ donor complexity. We show that HV(CO)4dppe (1) transfers H▪ to MoO3 in separate H+ and e- transfer steps. This is analogous to hydrogen spillover from Pt to MoO3 and suggests that 1 is a good model for H▪ adsorbed on Pt.