Electrocatalytic water oxidation using a chair-like tetranuclear copper(ii) complex in a neutral aqueous solution

Borate Buffer as a Key Player in Cu-Based Homogeneous Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation

Borate buffer was found to have both structural and functional roles within a low-cost tri-copper electrocatalyst for homogeneous water oxidation that exhibits a high turnover frequency of 310 s^-1 . The borate buffer was shown to facilitate the catalytic activity by both bridging the three Cu ions and participating in O-O bond formation. Phosphate and acetate buffers did not show such roles, making borate a unique player in this catalytic system.

Homogeneous Water Oxidation Catalyzed by First-Row Transition Metal Complexes: Unveiling the Relationship between Turnover Frequency and Reaction Overpotential

The utilization of earth-abundant low-toxicity metal ions in the construction of highly active and efficient molecular catalysts promoting the water oxidation reaction is important for developing a sustainable artificial energy cycle. However, the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of the currently available molecular water oxidation catalysts (MWOCs) have not been comprehensively investigated. This Review summarizes the current status of MWOCs based on first-row transition metals in terms of their turnover frequency (TOF, a kinetic property) and overpotential (η, a thermodynamic property) and uses the relationship between log(TOF) and η to assess catalytic performance. Furthermore, the effects of the same ligand classes on these MWOCs are discussed in terms of TOF and η, and vice versa. The collective analysis of these relationships provides a metric for the direct comparison of catalyst systems and identifying factors crucial for catalyst design.

Repurposing a peptide antibiotic as a catalyst: a multicopper–daptomycin complex as a cooperative O–O bond formation and activation catalyst

A peptide antibiotic, daptomycin, was repurposed to a multicopper catalyst presenting cooperative rate enhancement in O–O bond formation and activation reactions.

A low-cost commercial Cu(ii)–EDTA complex for electrocatalytic water oxidation in neutral aqueous solution

A low-cost commercial Cu complex [Cu(EDTA)(H2O)] is developed as a molecular catalyst for OER with high efficiency and durable stability.

Efficient homogeneous electrochemical water oxidation by a copper(ii) complex with a hexaaza macrotricyclic ligand

A copper complex [CuII(L)](ClO4)2 with a hexaaza macrotricyclic ligand is found to be an efficient homogeneous electrocatalyst for water oxidation with onset overpotential of 480 mV and a turnover frequency of 3.65 s−1.

Electrocatalytic water oxidation by a water-soluble copper complex with a pentadentate amine-pyridine ligand

A water-soluble copper complex with a diamine-tripyridine ligand was synthesized successfully and well characterized. It was found to be catalytically active for the water oxidation reaction under basic conditions. Based on the electrochemical test result, this copper complex displayed an apparent rate constant (k_cat) of 0.81 s^-1 for the oxygen evolution reaction in 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution at pH 11.0. More importantly, the copper complex remained stable over 3 h of a bulk electrolysis experiment at 1.60 V with a Faradaic efficiency of 90.7% for O₂ evolution, and the decrement of current density was only 1.9%. These results suggest that the pentadentate copper complex is an efficient and durable homogeneous Earth-abundant electrocatalyst for water oxidation.

Two biologically inspired tetranuclear nickel(II) catalysts: effect of the geometry of Ni4 core on electrocatalytic water oxidation

Two biologically inspired tetranuclear nickel complexes [Ni4(L-H)4(CH3COO)3]·Cl (1) and [Ni4(L-H)4(CH3COO)4]·2CH3OH (2) (L = di(pyridin-2-yl)methanediol) have been synthesized and investigated by a combination of X-ray crystallography, PXRD, electrochemistry, in-situ UV-Vis spectroelectrochemistry and DLS. Both of the two complexes feature a core composed of four Ni(II) ions with the same peripheral ligation provided by the anionic di(pyridin-2-yl)methanediol and MeCOO- ligands. Whereas, complex 1 possesses one distorted cubane-like [Ni4(µ3-O)4] core, while 2 has one extended butterfly-like [Ni4(µ3-O)2] core. The homogeneous electrocatalytic reactivity of the two water-soluble complexes for water oxidation have been thoroughly studied, which demonstrates that both of them can efficiently electrocatalyze water oxidation with high stability under alkaline conditions, at relatively low over-potentials (η) of 420-790 mV for 1 and 390-780 mV for 2, both in the pH range of 7.67-12.32, with the high TOF of about 139 s-1 (1) and 69 s-1 (2) at pH = 12.32, respectively. By a series of comparative experiments for complexes 1 and 2, we proposed that their crystal geometries play an important role in their electrocatalytic reactivity for water oxidation. We verified that biomimetic cubane geometry could promote OER catalysis with two very similar compounds for the first time. Compared with 2, the biomimetic cubane topology of 1 could promote OER catalysis by facilitating efficient charge delocalization and electron-transfer.

Recent Advances of Near-Infrared (NIR) Emissive Metal Complexes Bridged by Ligands with N- and/or O-Donor Sites

Near-infrared (NIR) emissive metal complexes have shown potential applications in optical communication, chemosensors, bioimaging, and laser and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) due to their structural tunability and luminescence stability. Among them, complexes with bridging ligands that exhibit unique emission behavior have attracted extensive interests in recent years. The target performance can be easily achieved by NIR light-emitting metal complexes with bridging ligands through molecular structure design. In this review, the luminescence mechanism and design strategies of NIR luminescent metal complexes with bridging ligands are described firstly, and then summarize the recent advance of NIR luminescent metal complexes with bridging ligands in the fields of electroluminescence and biosensing/bioimaging. Finally, the development trend of NIR luminescent metal complexes with bridging ligands are proposed, which shows an attractive prospect in the field of photophysical and photochemical materials.

Electrochemical water oxidation by a copper complex with an N4-donor ligand under neutral conditions

A mononuclear copper(ii) complex [Cu(H2L)](NO3)2 with an N4-donor redox-active ligand is found to be an efficient homogeneous catalyst for electrochemical water oxidation with the assistance of ligand oxidation.

Copper-based homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts for electrochemical water oxidation

Water oxidation is currently believed to be the bottleneck in the field of electrochemical water splitting and artificial photosynthesis. Enormous efforts have been devoted toward the exploration of water oxidation catalysts (WOCs), including homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. Recently, Cu-based WOCs have been widely developed because of their high abundance, low cost, and biological relevance. However, to the best of our knowledge, no review has been made so far on such types of catalysts. Thus, we have summarized the recent progress made in the development of homogeneous and heterogeneous Cu-based WOCs for electrochemical catalysis. Furthermore, the evaluations of catalytic activity, stability, and mechanism of these catalysts are carefully concluded and highlighted. We believe that this review can summarize the current progress in the field of Cu-based electrochemical WOCs and help in the design of more efficient and stable WOCs.

Dicopper(ii) tetrapyridyl complexes incorporated with ancillary ligands for effective water oxidation

Water oxidation catalysis of dicopper(ii) tetrapyridyl complexes under alkaline conditions was improved by diamine ligands.

Mono-/Multinuclear Water Oxidation Catalysts

Water splitting, in which water molecules can be transformed into hydrogen and oxygen, is an appealing energy conversion and transformation strategy to address the environmental and energy crisis. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is dynamically slow, which limits energy conversion efficiency during the water-splitting process and requires high-efficiency water oxidation catalysts (WOCs) to overcome the OER energy barrier. It is generally accepted that multinuclear WOCs possess superior OER performances, as demonstrated by the CaMn₄ O₅ cluster in photosystem II (PSII), which can catalyze the OER efficiently with a very low overpotential. Inspired by the CaMn₄ O₅ cluster in PSII, some multinuclear WOCs were synthesized that could catalyze water oxidation. In addition, some mononuclear molecular WOCs also show high water oxidation activity. However, it cannot be excluded that the high activity arises from the formation of dimeric species. Recently, some mononuclear heterogeneous WOCs showed a high water oxidation activity, which testified that mononuclear active sites with suitable coordination surroundings could also catalyze water oxidation efficiently. This Review focuses on recent progress in the development of mono-/multinuclear homo- and heterogeneous catalysts for water oxidation. The active sites and possible catalytic mechanisms for water oxidation on the mono-/multinuclear WOCs are provided.

Recent Advances in the Development of Water Oxidation Electrocatalysts at Mild pH

Developing anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts with high catalytic activities is of great importance for effective water splitting. Compared with the water-oxidation electrocatalysts that are commonly utilized in alkaline conditions, the ones operating efficiently under neutral or near neutral conditions are more environmentally friendly with less corrosion issues. This review starts with a brief introduction of OER, the importance of OER in mild-pH media, as well as the fundamentals and performance parameters of OER electrocatalysts. Then, recent progress of the rational design of electrocatalysts for OER in mild-pH conditions is discussed. The chemical structures or components, synthetic approaches, and catalytic performances of the OER catalysts will be reviewed. Some interesting insights into the catalytic mechanism are also included and discussed. It concludes with a brief outlook on the possible remaining challenges and future trends of neutral or near-neutral OER electrocatalysts. It hopefully provides the readers with a distinct perspective of the history, present, and future of OER electrocatalysts at mild conditions.

Copper Containing Molecular Systems in Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation—Trends and Perspectives

Molecular design represents an exciting platform to refine mechanistic details of electrocatalytic water oxidation and explore new perspectives. In the growing number of publications some general trends seem to be outlined concerning the operation mechanisms, with the help of experimental and theoretical approaches that have been broadly applied in the case of bioinorganic systems. In this review we focus on bio-inspired Cu-containing complexes that are classified according to the proposed mechanistic pathways and the related experimental evidence, strongly linked to the applied ligand architecture. In addition, we devote special attention to features of molecular compounds, which have been exploited in the efficient fabrication of catalytically active thin films.

Low overpotential water oxidation at neutral pH catalyzed by a copper(ii) porphyrin

Low-overpotential water oxidation catalyzed by copper(ii) porphyrin to produce O₂ in neutral aqueous solution and H₂O₂ in acidic solution.

Low overpotential water oxidation under mild conditions is required for new energy conversion technologies with potential application prospects. Extensive studies on molecular catalysis have been performed to gain fundamental knowledge for the rational designing of cheap, efficient and robust catalysts. We herein report a water-soluble Cu^II complex of tetrakis(4-N-methylpyridyl)porphyrin (1), which catalyzes the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in neutral aqueous solutions with small overpotentials: the onset potential of the catalytic water oxidation wave measured at current density j = 0.10 mA cm^–2 is 1.13 V versus a normal hydrogen electrode (NHE), which corresponds to an onset overpotential of 310 mV. Constant potential electrolysis of 1 at neutral pH and at 1.30 V versus NHE displayed a substantial and stable current for O₂ evolution with a faradaic efficiency of >93%. More importantly, in addition to the 4e water oxidation to O₂ at neutral pH, 1 can catalyze the 2e water oxidation to H₂O₂ in acidic solutions. The produced H₂O₂ is detected by rotating ring–disk electrode measurements and by the sodium iodide method after bulk electrolysis at pH 3.0. This work presents an efficient and robust Cu-based catalyst for water oxidation in both neutral and acidic solutions. The observation of H₂O₂ during water oxidation catalysis is rare and will provide new insights into the water oxidation mechanism.

Electrocatalytic water oxidation studies of a tetranuclear Cu(ii) complex with cubane-like core Cu4(μ3-O)4

A bio-inspired cubane-like tetranuclear cluster [Cu₄(pdmH)₄(OAc)₂](NO₃)₂·3H₂O can electrocatalyze water oxidation under aqueous alkaline conditions through a PCET process.

Electrochemical water oxidation using a copper complex

This study highlights the importance of proton coupled electron transfer (PCET) during electrochemical-driven water oxidation catalysis employing a copper complex.

Improvement of Electrochemical Water Oxidation by Fine-Tuning the Structure of Tetradentate N4 Ligands of Molecular Copper Catalysts

Two copper complexes, [(L1)Cu(OH₂ )](BF₄ )₂ [1; L1=N,N'-dimethyl-N,N'-bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)-1,2-diaminoethane] and [(L2)Cu(OH₂ )](BF₄ )₂ [2, L2=2,7-bis(2-pyridyl)-3,6-diaza-2,6-octadiene], were prepared as molecular water oxidation catalysts. Complex 1 displayed an overpotential (η) of 1.07 V at 1 mA cm^-2 and an observed rate constant (k_obs ) of 13.5 s^-1 at η 1.0 V in pH 9.0 phosphate buffer solution, whereas 2 exhibited a significantly smaller η (0.70 V) to reach 1 mA cm^-2 and a higher k_obs (50.4 s^-1 ) than 1 under identical test conditions. Additionally, 2 displayed better stability than 1 in controlled potential electrolysis experiments with a faradaic efficiency of 94 % for O₂ evolution at 1.58 V, when a casing tube was used for the Pt cathode. A possible mechanism for 1- and 2-catalyzed O₂ evolution reactions is discussed based on the experimental evidence. These comparative results indicate that fine-tuning the structures of tetradentate N₄ ligands can bring about significant change in the performance of copper complexes for electrochemical water oxidation.

Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation by a Homogeneous Copper Catalyst Disfavors Single-Site Mechanisms

Deployment of solar fuels derived from water requires robust oxygen-evolving catalysts made from earth abundant materials. Copper has recently received much attention in this regard. Mechanistic parallels between Cu and single-site Ru/Ir/Mn water oxidation catalysts, including intermediacy of terminal Cu oxo/oxyl species, are prevalent in the literature; however, intermediacy of late transition metal oxo species would be remarkable given the high d-electron count would fill antibonding orbitals, making these species high in energy. This may suggest alternate pathways are at work in copper-based water oxidation. This report characterizes a dinuclear copper water oxidation catalyst, {[(L)Cu(II)]₂-(μ-OH)₂}(OTf)₂ (L = Me₂TMPA = bis((6-methyl-2-pyridyl)methyl)(2-pyridylmethyl)amine) in which water oxidation proceeds with high Faradaic efficiency (>90%) and moderate rates (33 s^-1 at ∼1 V overpotential, pH 12.5). A large kinetic isotope effect (k_H/k_D = 20) suggests proton coupled electron transfer in the initial oxidation as the rate-determining step. This species partially dissociates in aqueous solution at pH 12.5 to generate a mononuclear {[(L)Cu(II)(OH)]}⁺ adduct (K_eq = 0.0041). Calculations that reproduce the experimental findings reveal that oxidation of either the mononuclear or dinuclear species results in a common dinuclear intermediate, {[LCu(III)]₂-(μ-O)₂}²⁺, which avoids formation of terminal Cu(IV)═O/Cu(III)-O^• intermediates. Calculations further reveal that both intermolecular water nucleophilic attack and redox isomerization of {[LCu(III)]₂-(μ-O)₂}²⁺ are energetically accessible pathways for O-O bond formation. The consequences of these findings are discussed in relation to differences in water oxidation pathways between Cu catalysts and catalysts based on Ru, Ir, and Mn.

A new preparation of a bifunctional crystalline heterogeneous copper electrocatalyst by electrodeposition using a Robson-type macrocyclic dinuclear copper complex for efficient hydrogen and oxygen evolution from water

Electro-deposited Cu(OH)₂/Cu₂O-based thin film on FTO with the macrocyclic dicopper complex shows excellent water splitting activity in excellent Faradaic efficiency.

Armed by Asp? C-terminal carboxylate in a Dap-branched peptide and consequences in the binding of CuII and electrocatalytic water oxidation

C-Terminal carboxylate in branched peptide allows insight into water oxidation electrocatalysis by Cu-complexes, revealing differences to homologues with varied modules.

A pyrene-modified cobalt salophen complex immobilized on multiwalled carbon nanotubes acting as a precursor for efficient electrocatalytic water oxidation

Highly efficient electrocatalytic water oxidation with an immobilized pyrene-modified cobalt salophen complex: molecular catalysis or heterogeneous catalysis?

Assembly of polyoxometalates and Ni-bpy cationic units into the molecular core–shell structures as bifunctional electrocatalysts

Four core–shell organic–inorganic hybrid materials composed of polyoxometalates and Ni-bpy units were designed and synthesized, which exhibited bifunctional electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of NO₂⁻ and water oxidation.