Immobilization of Iridium Triazolylidene Complexes into Polymer Scaffolds and Their Application in Water Oxidation

A triazolylidene irdium complex was postmodified with simple methods to introduce two alcohol groups in the triazolylidene backbone. The reaction of this difunctionalized iridium triazolylidene unit with terephthalic acid chloride allowed for integrating these iridium complexes into a polymeric assembly. Both the monomeric complexes as well as the polymerized systems showed activity in water oxidation driven by cerium ammonium nitrate as a chemical oxidant with comparable catalytic performance. Post-reaction analysis of the aqueous reaction solution by ICP MS showed a partial loss of iridium from the polymer into the aqueous phase under catalytic conditions, indicating a need for more robust polymer supports for this type of application.     

Iridium Complexes Containing Mesoionic C Donors: Selective C(sp3)H versus C(sp2)H Bond Activation,Reactivity Towards Acids and Bases,and Catalytic Oxidation of Silanes and Water

Metalation of a C2‐methylated pyridylimidazolium salt with [IrCp*Cl₂]₂ affords either an ylidic complex, resulting from C(sp³)?H bond activation of the C2‐bound CH₃ group if the metalation is performed in the presence of a base, such as AgO₂ or Na₂CO₃, or a mesoionic complex via cyclometalation and thermally induced heterocyclic C(sp²)?H bond activation, if the reaction is performed in the absence of a base. Similar cyclometalation and complex formation via C(sp²)?H bond activation is observed when the heterocyclic ligand precursor consists of the analogous pyridyltriazolium salt, that is, when the metal bonding at the C2 position is blocked by a nitrogen rather than a methyl substituent. Despite the strongly mesoionic character of both the imidazolylidene and the triazolylidene, the former reacts rapidly with D⁺ and undergoes isotope exchange at the heterocyclic C5 position, whereas the triazolylidene ligand is stable and only undergoes H/D exchange under basic conditions, where the imidazolylidene is essentially unreactive. The high stability of the Ir?C bond in aqueous solution over a broad pH range was exploited in catalytic water oxidation and silane oxidation. The catalytic hydrosilylation of ketones proceeds with turnover frequencies as high as 6 000 h^?1 with both the imidazolylidene and the triazolylidene system, whereas water oxidation is enhanced by the stronger donor properties of the imidazol‐4‐ylidene ligands and is more than three times faster than with the triazolylidene analogue.     

Design of Mononuclear Ruthenium Catalysts for Low‐Overpotential Water Oxidation

Water oxidation is a key reaction in natural photosynthesis and in many schemes for artificial photosynthesis. Inspired by energy challenges and the emerging understanding of photosystem II, the development of artificial molecular catalysts for water oxidation has become a highly active area of research in recent years. In this Focus Review, we describe recent achievements in the development of single‐site ruthenium catalysts for water oxidation with a particular focus on the overpotential of water oxidation. First, we introduce the general scheme to access the high‐valent ruthenium–oxo species, the key species of the water‐oxidation reaction. Next, the mechanisms of the O? O bond formation from the active ruthenium–oxo species are described. We then discuss strategies to decrease the onset potentials of the water‐oxidation reaction. We hope this Focus Review will contribute to the further development of efficient catalysts toward sustainable energy‐conversion systems.     

Combination of visible-light responsive heterogeneous and homogeneous photocatalysts for water oxidation

Bismuth vanadate (BiVO(4)), which is a visible-light responsive heterogeneous photocatalyst, was combined with homogeneous ruthenium complexes to increase the overall photocatalytic reactivity for water oxidation with a one-electron oxidant, [Co(III)(NH(3))(5)Cl](2+). Photoinduced electron transfer from the excited state of ruthenium(II) complexes to [Co(III)(NH(3))(5)Cl](2+) affords ruthenium(III) complexes which can oxidize water to oxygen with BiVO(4) under visible light irradiation.     

Stoichiometric photoisomerization of mononuclear ruthenium(II) monoaquo complexes controlling redox properties and water oxidation catalysis

Although various reactions involved in photoexcited states of polypyridyl ruthenium(II) complexes have been extensively studied, photoisomerization of the complexes is very rare. We report the first illustration of stoichiometric photoisomerization of trans-[Ru(tpy)(pynp)OH(2)](2+) (1a) [tpy = 2,2':6',2'-terpyridine; pynp = 2-(2-pyridyl)-1,8-naphthyridine] to cis-[Ru(tpy)(pynp)OH(2)](2+) (1a') and the isolation of 1a and 1a' for X-ray crystallographic analysis. Polypyridyl ruthenium(II) aquo complexes are attracting much attention related to proton-coupled electron transfer and water oxidation catalysis. We demonstrate that the photoisomerization significantly controls the redox reactions and water oxidation catalyses involving the ruthenium(II) aquo complexes 1a and 1a'.     

Ruthenium complexes with non-innocent ligands: Electron distribution and implications for catalysis

Ruthenium complexes with the non-innocent ligands (NILs) benzoquinone, iminobenzoquinone and benzoquinonediimine and their redox derivatives exhibit intriguing electronic properties. With the proper ligand set the NIL π* orbitals mix extensively with the ruthenium dπ orbitals resulting in delocalized electron distributions and non-integer oxidation states, and in most of these systems a particular ruthenium oxidation state dominates. This review critically examines the electronic structure of Ru–NIL systems from both an experimental and computational (DFT) perspective. The electron distribution within these complexes can be modulated by altering both the ancillary ligands and the NIL, and in a few cases the resultant electron distributions are exploited for catalysis. The Ru–NIL systems that perform alcohol oxidation and water oxidation catalysis are discussed in detail. The Tanaka catalyst, an anthracene-bridged dinuclear Ru complex, is an intriguing example of a Ru–NIL framework in catalysis. Unlike other known ruthenium water oxidation catalysts, the two Ru atoms remain low valent during the catalytic cycle according to DFT calculations, some experimental evidence, and predictions based on the behavior of the related mononuclear species.     

New strategy to incorporate nano-particle sized water oxidation catalyst into dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cell for water splitting

In order to develop a new strategy to deposit nano-particle sized water oxidation catalyst based on earth abundant element to the photoanode in a photoelectrochemical cell for water splitting, Co_3O_4 as water oxidation catalyst was prepared and subsequently modified by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. The amino functionalized Co_3O_4 catalyst was carefully characterized and then integrated to the ruthenium dye sensitized photoelectrode through fast Schiff base reaction. Cyclic voltammetry experiments in the dark confirmed that the modified Co_3O_4 catalyst was still active toward water oxidation, which could be initiated by oxidation of the ruthenium photosensitizer. Under visible light irradiation, incorporation of the modified Co_3O_4 catalyst resulted in dramatic enhancement of the transient photocurrent density for the photoanode, which was 8 times higher than that of without Co_3O_4 catalyst.     

基于Ru-bda双核钌催化剂的可见光驱动水氧化

开发高效水氧化催化剂对于太阳能分解水制氢和 CO2还原都具有重要意义. 我们之前的研究表明, 基于 Ru-bda(bda= 2,2'-联吡啶-6,6'-二羧酸) 单体的双核钌催化剂在以 (NH4)2Ce(NO3)6为氧化剂的化学法水氧化反应中表现出良好的催化性能, 比相同条件下单核钌催化剂的活性高出一个数量级. 然而, 该类双核钌催化剂的光催化水氧化性能尚未被系统研究.因此我们考察了以丙烷桥双核钌配合物为催化剂、[Ru(bpy)3]Cl2为光敏剂、Na2S2O8为电子牺牲体组成的三组分体系的光催化性能, 并和相应的单核钌催化剂进行了对比, 同时考察了溶液中乙腈的含量对单、双核钌分子催化剂光催化产氧性能和产氧机理的影响.实验结果表明, 无论是单核还是双核钌催化剂, 其催化活性与乙腈在磷酸缓冲溶液中的比例密切相关. 乙腈的含量不仅影响了水氧化的驱动力, 而且影响 O-O 的形成机理, 改变反应的动力学和反应速率. 单、双核钌催化剂的活性都随着乙腈比例的增加而增加, 然而双核钌催化剂在低乙腈含量的缓冲溶液中展现优于单核钌催化剂的光催化性能; 而在高乙腈含量的缓冲溶液中, 双核钌催化剂和单核钌催化剂的光催化性能趋于相当. 在最优化条件 (60% 乙腈) 下, 双核钌的光催化产氧 TON 值达到 638, 在 450 nm 的光量子效率达到 77%. 我们还发现, 当乙腈浓度较低时, 单核钌催化剂 Ru-bda 催化的水氧化反应为二级动力学; 当乙腈浓度较高时, 该催化剂在反应中表现为一级动力学. 从而推测 O-O 键的形成机制由双分子自由基耦合转变成单分子亲核进攻, 也解释了为什么高乙腈含量下单核和双核钌催化剂的活性差别不大. 本研究所展示的 Ru-bda 的溶剂效应可能同样适用于电化学和光电化学水氧化, 对深入理解和设计高效太阳能分解水器件具有重要意义.     

Catalytic Water Oxidation by Ruthenium(II) Quaterpyridine (qpy) Complexes: Evidence for Ruthenium(III) qpy‐N,N′′′‐dioxide as the Real Catalysts

Polypyridyl and related ligands have been widely used for the development of water oxidation catalysts. Supposedly these ligands are oxidation‐resistant and can stabilize high‐oxidation‐state intermediates. In this work a series of ruthenium(II) complexes [Ru(qpy)(L)₂]²⁺ (qpy=2,2′:6′,2′′:6′′,2′′′‐quaterpyridine; L=substituted pyridine) have been synthesized and found to catalyze Ce^IV‐driven water oxidation, with turnover numbers of up to 2100. However, these ruthenium complexes are found to function only as precatalysts; first, they have to be oxidized to the qpy‐N,N′′′‐dioxide (ONNO) complexes [Ru(ONNO)(L)₂]³⁺ which are the real catalysts for water oxidation.     

Kinetics of water oxidation with cerium(IV) compounds catalyzed by a tetranuclear ruthenium complex

The kinetics and mechanism of water oxidation with cerium(IV) compounds catalyzed by a tetranuclear ruthenium complex containing two polyoxotungstate ligands are reported. Four water molecules are oxidized via an eight-electron process to form two oxygen molecules.     

Catalytic mechanism of water oxidation with single-site ruthenium-heteropolytungstate complexes

Catalytic water oxidation to generate oxygen was achieved using all-inorganic mononuclear ruthenium complexes bearing Keggin-type lacunary heteropolytungstate, [Ru(III)(H(2)O)SiW(11)O(39)](5-) (1) and [Ru(III)(H(2)O)GeW(11)O(39)](5-) (2), as catalysts with (NH(4))(2)[Ce(IV)(NO(3))(6)] (CAN) as a one-electron oxidant in water. The oxygen atoms of evolved oxygen come from water as confirmed by isotope-labeled experiments. Cyclic voltammetric measurements of 1 and 2 at various pH's indicate that both complexes 1 and 2 exhibit three one-electron redox couples based on ruthenium center. The Pourbaix diagrams (plots of E(1/2) vs pH) support that the Ru(III) complexes are oxidized to the Ru(V)-oxo complexes with CAN. The Ru(V)-oxo complex derived from 1 was detected by UV-visible absorption, EPR, and resonance Raman measurements in situ as an active species during the water oxidation reaction. This indicates that the Ru(V)-oxo complex is involved in the rate-determining step of the catalytic cycle of water oxidation. The overall catalytic mechanism of water oxidation was revealed on the basis of the kinetic analysis and detection of the catalytic intermediates. Complex 2 exhibited a higher catalytic reactivity for the water oxidation with CAN than did complex 1.     

Synthesis and characterization of the first carbene derivative of a polyoxometalate

Reaction of the Keggin-type polyanion [PW11O39]7- with the tetrakis-carbene ruthenium precursor [RuLMe4Cl2] (LMe = 1,3-dimethylimidazolidine-2-ylidene), in water, results in the formation of Na4K9[(PW9O34)2(cis-WO2)(cis-RuLMe2)].23H2O, which is the first carbene derivative of a polyoxometalate. The oxidation state of the ruthenium is confirmed by XANES experiments.     

Oxidation chemistry of poly(ethylene glycol)-supported carbonylruthenium(II) and dioxoruthenium(VI) meso-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin

[Ru(II)(F(20)-tpp)(CO)] (1, F(20)-tpp=meso-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrinato dianion) was covalently attached to poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) through the reaction of 1 with PEG and sodium hydride in DMF. The water-soluble PEG-supported ruthenium porphyrin (PEG-1) is an efficient catalyst for 2,6-Cl(2)pyNO oxidation and PhI==NTs aziridination/amidation of hydrocarbons, and intramolecular amidation of sulfamate esters with PhI(OAc)(2). Oxidation of PEG-1 by m-CPBA in CH(2)Cl(2), dioxane, or water afforded a water-soluble PEG-supported dioxoruthenium(VI) porphyrin (PEG-2), which could react with hydrocarbons to give oxidation products in up to 80 % yield. The behavior of the two PEG-supported ruthenium porphyrin complexes in water was probed by NMR spectroscopy and dynamic light-scattering measurements. PEG-2 is remarkably stable to water. The second-order rate constants (k(2)) for the oxidation of styrene and ethylbenzene by PEG-2 in dioxane-water increase with water content, and the k(2) values at a water content of 70 % or 80 % are up to 188 times that obtained in ClCH(2)CH(2)Cl.     

A soluble form of nano-sized colloidal manganese(IV) oxide as an efficient catalyst for water oxidation

A soluble form of colloidal manganese(IV) oxide showed efficient oxygen evolution or water oxidation in presence of oxone, H(2)O(2), cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate and tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(III).     

铁基阳极析氧催化剂的研究进展与展望

利用电解水制氢来储存太阳能是未来能源发展的一大趋势。 水的阳极氧化是这一过程中最重要也是最复杂的一步。 因此,设计稳定而高效的水氧化催化剂是电解水制氢的关键。 目前,研究比较成熟的是基于贵金属钌的水氧化催化剂,但由于其价格昂贵、储量较少无法大规模利用。 铁作为钌的同族元素用于水氧化催化近年来受到了越来越多的关注。 本文从铁基阳极水氧化催化剂研究现状、制备方法、催化体系及机理3个方面对电解水铁基阳极催化剂进行了综述。 分析其当前存在的问题,为水氧化催化剂的进一步研究设计提供参考。     

Electrodeposited nano-scale islands of ruthenium oxide as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for simultaneous catalytic oxidation of hydrazine and hydroxylamine

For the first time, an electrodeposited nano-scale islands of ruthenium oxide (ruthenium oxide nanoparticles), as an excellent bifunctional electrocatalyst, was successfully used for hydrazine and hydroxylamine electrocatalytic oxidation. The results show that, at the present bifunctional modified electrode, two different redox couples of ruthenium oxides serve as electrocatalysts for simultaneous electrocatalytic oxidation of hydrazine and hydroxylamine. At the modified electrode surface, the peaks of differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) for hydrazine and hydroxylamine oxidation were clearly separated from each other when they co-exited in solution. Thus, it was possible to simultaneously determine hydrazine and hydroxylamine in the samples at a ruthenium oxide nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrode (RuON-GCE). Linear calibration curves were obtained for 2.0-268.3 μM and 268.3-417.3 μM of hydrazine and for 4.0-33.8 μM and 33.8-78.3 μM of hydroxylamine at the modified electrode surface using an amperometric method. The amperometric method also exhibited the detection limits of 0.15 μM and 0.45 μM for hydrazine and hydroxylamine respectively. RuON-GCE was satisfactorily used for determination of spiked hydrazine in two water samples. Moreover, the studied bifunctional modified electrode exhibited high sensitivity, good repeatability, wide linear range and long-term stability.     

Light-induced water oxidation by a Ru complex containing a bio-inspired ligand

The new Ru complex 8 containing the bio-inspired ligand 7 was successfully synthesized and characterized. Complex 8 efficiently catalyzes water oxidation using Ce(IV) and Ru(III) as chemical oxidants. More importantly, this complex has a sufficiently low overpotential to utilize ruthenium polypyridyl-type complexes as photosensitizers.     

Protonation effect on catalytic water oxidation activity of a mononuclear Ru catalyst containing a free pyridine unit

Two efficient single-site Ru water oxidation catalysts [Ru(bda)(pic)(Ln)](bda = 2,2'-bipyridine-6,6'-dicarboxylic acid, pic = picoline, L1 = 4,5-bipyridine-2,7-di-tert-butyl-9,9-dimethylxanthene, L2 = 4-pyridine-5-phenyl-2,7-di-tert-butyl-9,9-dimethylxanthene) were only synthesized containing different xanthene ligands at the axial site. These complexes have been thoroughly characterized by spectroscopic(UV-vis, NMR) and electrochemical(CV and DPV) techniques. Kinetic analysis proved that the mechanism of water oxidation comprises the water nucleophilic attack process on high-valence ruthenium species.It is found that the catalyst 1 displayed higher activity than catalyst 2 on water oxidation, caused by the protonation of the axial ligand L1 with a free pyridine.     

Chemical and Photochemical Water Oxidation Catalyzed by Mononuclear Ruthenium Complexes with a Negatively Charged Tridentate Ligand

Two mononuclear ruthenium complexes [RuL(pic)₃] ( 1 ) and [RuL(bpy)(pic)] ( 2 ) (H₂L=2,6‐pyridinedicarboxylic acid, pic=4‐picoline, bpy=2,2′‐bipyridine) have been synthesized and fully characterized. Both complexes could promote water oxidation chemically and photochemically. Compared with other known ruthenium‐based water oxidation catalysts using [Ce(NH₄)₂(NO₃)₆] (Ce^IV) as the oxidant in solution at pH 1.0, complex 1 is one of the most active catalysts yet reported with an initial rate of 0.23 turnover s^?1. Under acidic conditions, the equatorial 4‐picoline in complex 1 dissociates first. In addition, ligand exchange in 1 occurs when the Ru^III state is reached. Based on the above observations and MS measurements of the intermediates during water oxidation by 1 using Ce^IV as oxidant, [RuL(pic)₂(H₂O)]⁺ is proposed as the real water oxidation catalyst.     

Water oxidation by mononuclear ruthenium complexes with TPA-based ligands

The synthesis, characterization, and water oxidation activity of mononuclear ruthenium complexes with tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine (TPA), tris(6-methyl-2-pyridylmethyl)amine (Me(3)TPA), and a new pentadentate ligand N,N-bis(2-pyridinylmethyl)-2,2'-bipyridine-6-methanamine (DPA-Bpy) have been described. The electrochemical properties of these mononuclear Ru complexes have been investigated by both experimental and computational methods. Using Ce(IV) as oxidant, stoichiometric oxidation of water by [Ru(TPA)(H(2)O)(2)](2+) was observed, while Ru(Me(3)TPA)(H(2)O)(2)](2+) has much less activity for water oxidation. Compared to [Ru(TPA)(H(2)O)(2)](2+) and [Ru(Me(3)TPA)(H(2)O)(2)](2+), [Ru(DPA-Bpy)(H(2)O)](2+) exhibited 20 times higher activity for water oxidation. This study demonstrates a new type of ligand scaffold to support water oxidation by mononuclear Ru complexes.