Photochemical,Electrochemical, and Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation Catalyzed by Water‐Soluble Mononuclear Ruthenium Complexes

Two mononuclear ruthenium complexes [Ru(H₂tcbp)(isoq)₂] ( 1 ) and [Ru(H₂tcbp)(pic)₂] ( 2 ) (H₄tcbp=4,4′,6,6′‐tetracarboxy‐2,2′‐bipyridine, isoq=isoquinoline, pic=4‐picoline) are synthesized and fully characterized. Two spare carboxyl groups on the 4,4′‐positions are introduced to enhance the solubility of 1 and 2 in water and to simultaneously allow them to tether to the electrode surface by an ester linkage. The photochemical, electrochemical, and photoelectrochemical water oxidation performance of 1 in neutral aqueous solution is investigated. Under electrochemical conditions, water oxidation is conducted on the deposited indium‐tin‐oxide anode, and a turnover number higher than 15,000 per water oxidation catalyst (WOC) 1 is obtained during 10 h of electrolysis under 1.42 V vs. NHE, corresponding to a turnover frequency of 0.41 s^?1. The low overpotential (0.17 V) of electrochemical water oxidation for 1 in the homogeneous solution enables water oxidation under visible light by using [Ru(bpy)₃]²⁺ ( P1 ) (bpy=2,2′‐bipyridine) or [Ru(bpy)₂(4,4′‐(COOEt)₂‐bpy)]²⁺ ( P2 ) as a photosensitizer. In a three‐component system containing 1 or 2 as a light‐driven WOC, P1 or P2 as a photosensitizer, and Na₂S₂O₈ or [CoCl(NH₃)₅]Cl₂ as a sacrificial electron acceptor, a high turnover frequency of 0.81 s^?1 and a turnover number of up to 600 for 1 under different catalytic conditions are achieved. In a photoelectrochemical system, the WOC 1 and photosensitizer are immobilized together on the photoanode. The electrons efficiently transfer from the WOC to the photogenerated oxidizing photosensitizer, and a high photocurrent density of 85 μA cm^?2 is obtained by applying 0.3 V bias vs. NHE.     

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.     

Extending the π-System in MnI Diimine Tricarbonyl Complexes: Impacts on Photochemistry,Electrochemistry, and CO2 Catalytic Reduction Activity

The complex [Mn(bpy)(CO)₃Br], has been previously studied as both an electrocatalyst and a photocatalyst, in conjugation with a photosensitizer, for CO₂ reduction to CO. This study considers the relationship between this catalytic activity and the steric and electronic nature of the aromatic diimine ligand. To this end, the π-system in the bidentate ligand is increased step-wise from 2,2′-bipyridine ( bpy ) to 2-(2-pyridyl)quinoline ( pq ) to 2,2′-biquinoline ( bqn ) in a series of three fac-[Mn(α-diimine)(CO)₃Br] complexes. It is found that the propensity of these complexes to photochemically dimerize trends with the energy of the α-diimine π* energy. Electrochemically, it is observed that the second reduction event in these systems becomes increasingly thermodynamically favorable and approaches the potential of the first reduction event as the π-system expands. In fac-[Mn(bqn)(CO)₃Br], the second reduction is more favorable than the first reduction, precluding the formation of a dimer intermediate; even though, chemical reduction of fac-[Mn(bqn)(CO)₃Br] confirms that the dimer, [Mn(bqn)(CO)₃Br]₂ is able to form and not prevented by steric considerations. Though the second reduction potential is more positive for bqn and pq than for bpy , the CO₂ reduction mechanism changes such that the overpotential for carbon dioxide reduction occurs at more negative potentials, leading to a decrease in overall catalytic activity.     

Earth‐Abundant Oxygen Evolution Catalysts Coupled onto ZnO Nanowire Arrays for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Water Cleavage

ZnO has long been considered as a model UV‐driven photoanode for photoelectrochemical water splitting, but its performance has been limited by fast charge‐carrier recombination, extremely poor stability in aqueous solution, and slow kinetics of water oxidation. These issues were addressed by applying a strategy of optimization and passivation of hydrothermally grown 1D ZnO nanowire arrays. The length and diameter of bare ZnO nanowires were optimized by varying the growth time and precursor concentration to achieve optimal photoelectrochemical performance. The addition of earth‐abundant cobalt phosphate (Co‐Pi) and nickel borate (Ni‐B) oxygen evolution catalysts onto ZnO nanowires resulted in substantial cathodic shifts in onset potential to as low as about 0.3 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) for Ni‐B/ZnO, for which a maximum photocurrent density of 1.1 mA cm^?2 at 0.9 V (vs. RHE) with applied bias photon‐to‐current efficiency of 0.4 % and an unprecedented near‐unity incident photon‐to‐current efficiency at 370 nm. In addition the potential required for saturated photocurrent was dramatically reduced from 1.6 to 0.9 V versus RHE. Furthermore, the stability of these ZnO nanowires was significantly enhanced by using Ni‐B compared to Co‐Pi due to its superior chemical robustness, and it thus has additional functionality as a stable protecting layer on the ZnO surface. These remarkable enhancements in both photocatalytic activity and stability directly address the current severe limitations in the use of ZnO‐based photoelectrodes for water‐splitting applications, and can be applied to other photoanodes for efficient solar‐driven fuel synthesis.     

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.