Eric’s paper, Reactivity of Proton Sources with a Nickel Hydride Complex in Acetonitrile: Implications for the Study of Fuel Forming Catalysts, was accepted for publication in Inorganic Chemistry! In this paper, the kinetics for the reaction between a nickel hydride complex and acid to form hydrogen in acetonitrile are examined for a series of 15 different acids. The results reveal not only a linear free energy relationship between rate constants and acid pKa for a series of structurally similar acids, but show rate constants are sensitive to acid:base mixtures, homoconjugation, heteroconjugation, dimerization, and water presence. These data reveal that the selection of proton sources for study of molecular electrocatalysts must account for more than simply acid strength!

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