A mononuclear copper complex as bifunctional electrocatalyst for CO2 reduction and water oxidation

Effect of the Cu2+/1+ Redox Potential of Non-Macrocyclic Cu Complexes on Electrochemical CO2 Reduction

Cu^2+/1+ complexes facilitate the reduction of CO₂ to valuable chemicals. The catalytic conversion likely involves the binding of CO₂ and/or reduction intermediates to Cu^2+/1+, which in turn could be influenced by the electron density on the Cu^2+/1+ ion. Herein we investigated whether modulating the redox potential of Cu^2+/1+ complexes by changing their ligand structures influenced their CO₂ reduction performance significantly. We synthesised new heteroleptic Cu^2/1+ complexes, and for the first time, studied a (Cu-bis(8-quinolinolato) complex, covering a Cu^2+/1+ redox potential range of 1.3 V. We have found that the redox potential influenced the Faradaic efficiency of CO₂ reduction to CO. However, no correlation between the redox potential and the Faradaic efficiency for methane was found. The lack of correlation could be attributed to the presence of a Cu-complex-derived catalyst deposited on the electrodes leading to a heterogeneous catalytic mechanism, which is controlled by the structure of the in situ deposited catalyst and not the redox potential of the pre-cursor Cu^2+/1+ complexes.

Two Novel Schiff Base Manganese Complexes as Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for CO2 Reduction and Water Oxidation

One mononuclear Mn(III) complex [MnIIIL(H2O)(MeCN)](ClO4) (1) and one hetero-binuclear complex [(CuIILMnII(H2O)3)(CuIIL)2](ClO4)2·CH3OH (2) have been synthesized with the Schiff base ligand (H2L = N,N'-bis(3-methoxysalicylidene)-1,2-phenylenediamine). Single crystal X-ray structural analysis manifests that the Mn(III) ion in 1 has an octahedral coordination structure, whereas the Mn(II) ion in 2 possesses a trigonal bipyramidal configuration and the Cu(II) ion in 2 is four-coordinated with a square-planar geometry. Electrochimerical catalytic investigation demonstrates that the two complexes can electrochemically catalyze water oxidation and CO2 reduction simultaneously. The coordination environments of the Mn(III), Mn(II), and Cu(II) ions in 1 and 2 were provided by the Schiff base ligand (L) and labile solvent molecules. The coordinately unsaturated environment of the Cu(II) center in 2 can perfectly facilitate the catalytic performance of 2. Complexes 1 and 2 display that the over potentials for water oxidation are 728 mV and 216 mV, faradaic efficiencies (FEs) are 88% and 92%, respectively, as well as the turnover frequency (TOF) values for the catalytic reduction of CO2 to CO are 0.38 s-1 at -1.65 V and 15.97 s-1 at -1.60 V, respectively. Complex 2 shows much better catalytic performance for both water oxidation and CO2 reduction than that of complex 1, which could be owing to a structural reason which is attributed to the synergistic catalytic action of the neighboring Mn(III) and Cu(II) active sites in 2. Complexes 1 and 2 are the first two compounds coordinated with Schiff base ligand for both water oxidation and CO2 reduction. The finding in this work can offer significant inspiration for the future development of electrocatalysis in this area.