Oxidative addition of dihydrogen to a low valent transition metal center is common. Several metals react directly with H2, although usually heat to a few hundred degrees is required. One example is titanium dihydride, which forms when titanium sponge is heated to 400-700 °C under an atmosphere of hydrogen. These reactions typically require high surface area metals. The direct reaction of metals with H2 is a step in catalytic hydrogenation.
