基于立方烷结构的分子催化剂在光催化水氧化中的研究进展

随着化石燃料大量使用带来的气候变化和环境污染问题日趋严重,寻找清洁高效的可再生能源用做传统化石燃料的替代品,已经成为当前的研究热点。光驱动的水分解反应被认为是太阳能制氢的可行途径。水的全分解包括两个半反应-水的氧化和质子还原。其中水的氧化反应是一个涉及四个电子和四个质子转移的复杂过程,需要很高的活化能,被认为是全分解水反应的瓶颈步骤。因此,开发高效、稳定、廉价丰产的水氧化催化剂是人工光合作用突破的关键因素。立方烷具有类似自然界光合作用酶光系统II(PSII)活性中心Mn_4CaO_5簇的结构,世界各国的科学家受自然界光合作用的启发,开发出了许多基于过渡金属的立方烷结构的催化剂,常见的有锰、钴和铜等立方烷催化剂。本文简要地综述了近年来立方烷分子催化剂在光催化水氧化中的研究进展。首先介绍了立方烷基光催化水氧化反应历程,继而详细介绍了基于有机配体的立方烷配合物和全无机的多金属氧酸盐立方烷水氧化催化剂,其次是半导体(BiVO4或聚合的氮化碳(PCN))为捕光材料复合立方烷分子催化剂的水氧化体系最新研究进展。最后总结并展望了该领域所面临的挑战及其前景。

Recent Advances in Catalysts Based on Molecular Cubanes for Visible Light-Driven Water Oxidation

Increasing climate change and environmental pollution caused by the excessive use of fossil fuels have prompted intensive research into clean and efficient renewable sources as a substitute for traditional fossil fuels. A very promising approach is to mimic the water splitting process that occurs in plants during photosynthesis, in order to convert solar energy into chemical energy. A successful water splitting reaction, which comprises two half reactions (water oxidation and the reduction of protons), can generate H₂ and O₂ from water. Hydrogen is a promising renewable energy carrier because of its clean combustion and high calorific value. Light-driven water splitting is considered to be a feasible way to transform water and solar energy into hydrogen energy. However, water oxidation is considered to be the bottleneck process of water splitting because it advances in a thermodynamically uphill manner with the involvement of 4e^? and 4H⁺. Inspired by the nature of Mn₄CaO₅ in photosystem Ⅱ (PS Ⅱ), the comprehensive understanding of its key features for use in active molecular water oxidation catalysts (WOCs) remains challenging. Extensive effort has been devoted to researching and manufacturing the structure and biomimicking the catalytic activity of Mn₄CaO₅ clusters that contain the Mn₃CaO₄ cubane structure, for the construction of low-cost and robust WOCs. WOCs can be divided into heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts. Although heterogeneous WOCs are convenient for recycling and are easily prepared on a large scale, homogeneous WOCs, especially complexes based on organic ligands or polyoxometalates (POMs), have more advantages owing to their catalytic efficiency, structural modifications, and mechanistic understanding. Thus, recently, some molecules with an M₄O₄ (M = transition metals, mainly Mn, Co, Ni, and Cu) cubic structure have been reportedly used as photocatalytic WOCs. In this review, we present an overview of the most important and recent advances based on M₄O₄ cubic WOCs that contain first-row transition metal cubanes for visible light-driven water oxidation. Our main focus is on the structure of cubane catalysts, including metal complexes, POMs, and a system containing BiVO₄ or polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) as a photosensitizer, and cubic complexes as WOCs. Results have shown that the activity and stability of the catalyst can be tuned by the ligand stability, metal center, coordination environment, and other factors. This review will be helpful for designing new cubane catalysts for photocatalytic water oxidation that are highly efficient and stable.