Palladium versus Platinum: The Metal in the Catalytic Center of a Molecular Photocatalyst Determines the Mechanism of the Hydrogen Production with Visible Light

To develop highly efficient molecular photocatalysts for visible light‐driven hydrogen production, a thorough understanding of the photophysical and chemical processes in the photocatalyst is of vital importance. In this context, in situ X‐ray absorption spectroscopic (XAS) investigations show that the nature of the catalytically active metal center in a (N^N)MCl₂ (M=Pd or Pt) coordination sphere has a significant impact on the mechanism of the hydrogen formation. Pd as the catalytic center showed a substantially altered chemical environment and a formation of metal colloids during catalysis, whereas no changes of the coordination sphere were observed for Pt as catalytic center. The high stability of the Pt center was confirmed by chloride addition and mercury poisoning experiments. Thus, for Pt a fundamentally different catalytic mechanism without the involvement of colloids is confirmed.     

Boosting Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production of a Metal–Organic Framework Decorated with Platinum Nanoparticles: The Platinum Location Matters

Improving the efficiency of electron–hole separation and charge‐carrier utilization plays a central role in photocatalysis. Herein, Pt nanoparticles of ca. 3 nm are incorporated inside or supported on a representative metal–organic framework (MOF), UiO‐66‐NH₂, denoted as Pt@UiO‐66‐NH₂ and Pt/UiO‐66‐NH₂, respectively, for photocatalytic hydrogen production via water splitting. Compared with the pristine MOF, both Pt‐decorated MOF nanocomposites exhibit significantly improved yet distinctly different hydrogen‐production activities, highlighting that the photocatalytic efficiency strongly correlates with the Pt location relative to the MOF. The Pt@UiO‐66‐NH₂ greatly shortens the electron‐transport distance, which favors the electron–hole separation and thereby yields much higher efficiency than Pt/UiO‐66‐NH₂. The involved mechanism has been further unveiled by means of ultrafast transient absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy.     

The Hydrogen Bond of Water from the Perspective of Soft X‐Ray Spectroscopy

Its importance for life and its unusual properties keep water within the focus of ongoing research; this focus especially applies to water in the liquid phase. Scientists agree that the hydrogen‐bond network, which is formed by interactions between the water molecules, is key for understanding the anomalies of water. However, a better understanding of the structure of this network, as well as its dynamics, must yet be established. Soft X‐ray spectroscopy allows the investigation of the local electronic structure of water by probing the occupied and unoccupied valence molecular orbitals. In this Focus Review, we present soft‐X‐ray‐based techniques, their development in terms of liquid spectroscopy, and recent studies on the hydrogen‐bond network of liquid water.     

Engineering the Atomic Interface with Single Platinum Atoms for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

It is highly desirable but challenging to optimize the structure of photocatalysts at the atomic scale to facilitate the separation of electron–hole pairs for enhanced performance. Now, a highly efficient photocatalyst is formed by assembling single Pt atoms on a defective TiO₂ support (Pt₁/def‐TiO₂). Apart from being proton reduction sites, single Pt atoms promote the neighboring TiO₂ units to generate surface oxygen vacancies and form a Pt‐O‐Ti³⁺ atomic interface. Experimental results and density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the Pt‐O‐Ti³⁺ atomic interface effectively facilitates photogenerated electrons to transfer from Ti³⁺ defective sites to single Pt atoms, thereby enhancing the separation of electron–hole pairs. This unique structure makes Pt₁/def‐TiO₂ exhibit a record‐level photocatalytic hydrogen production performance with an unexpectedly high turnover frequency of 51423 h^?1, exceeding the Pt nanoparticle supported TiO₂ catalyst by a factor of 591.     

Crystallography Aided by Atomic Core-Level Binding Energies: Proton Transfer versus Hydrogen Bonding in Organic Crystal Structures

Ionic bond or hydrogen bridge? Br?nsted proton transfer to nitrogen acceptors in organic crystals causes strong N1s core-level binding energy shifts. A study of 15 organic cocrystal and salt systems shows that standard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) can be used as a complementary method to X-ray crystallography for distinguishing proton transfer from H-bonding in organic condensed matter.     

用于甲醇水溶液制氢的光催化剂纳米TiO2的改性进展

综述了用于甲醇水溶液制氢的光催化剂纳米TiO2的改性进展。参考文献34篇。     

弱紫外光光催化降解2,4-二氯苯氧基乙酸、对氯酚和草酸同时产氢

考察了弱紫外光光催化氧化降解2,4-二氯苯氧基乙酸(2,4-D)、4-氯酚(4-CP)和草酸(OA)三种模型有机污染物及其同时产氢现象.结果表明:在光催化剂1.0%Pt/TiO2(1.0 g/L)作用下,用弱紫外光分别光照含有2,4-D,4-CP和OA的三种水溶液(均为1.0 mmol/L,160 ml)悬浮体系2 h,产生了38.43,0.05及111.35μmol的氢气和73.80,4.49及175.99μmol的二氧化碳,同时污染物2,4-D和4-CP去除率分别为83.83%和36.19%.可见,低碳的有机污染物OA和芳香性有机污染物2,4-D都表现出显著的光催化降解同时产氢性能,是好的光催化产氢的电子给体,而4-CP给电子性能较差.改用强紫外光照射(其强度比弱紫外高150倍),5 min内2,4-D和4-CP的去除率达到90%以上.光照2,4-D,4-CP和OA 2 h后相应的产氢量分别为113.02,38.98和191.30μmol;二氧化碳的产量分别为195.60,31.41和306.96μmol.根据污染物组成和含量,可以设计强紫外光和弱紫外光联合使用的光催化降解有机污染物同时产氢工艺,以便高效节能地实现污染物的去除以及光能和污染物的化学能向氢气化学能的转化.     

Microsecond X‐ray Absorption Spectroscopy Identification of CoI Intermediates in Cobaloxime‐Catalyzed Hydrogen Evolution

Rational development of efficient photocatalytic systems for hydrogen production requires understanding the catalytic mechanism and detailed information about the structure of intermediates in the catalytic cycle. We demonstrate how time‐resolved X‐ray absorption spectroscopy in the microsecond time range can be used to identify such intermediates and to determine their local geometric structure. This method was used to obtain the solution structure of the Co^I intermediate of cobaloxime, which is a non‐noble metal catalyst for solar hydrogen production from water. Distances between cobalt and the nearest ligands including two solvent molecules and displacement of the cobalt atom out of plane formed by the planar ligands have been determined. Combining in situ X‐ray absorption and UV/Vis data, we demonstrate how slight modification of the catalyst structure can lead to the formation of a catalytically inactive Co^I state under similar conditions. Possible deactivation mechanisms are discussed.     

Effects of Adsorbate Coverage and Bond‐Length Disorder on the d‐Band Center of Carbon‐Supported Pt Catalysts

Determination of the factors that affect the d‐band center of catalysts is required to explain their catalytic properties. Resonant inelastic X‐ray scattering (RIXS) enables direct imaging of electronic transitions in the d‐band of Pt catalysts in real time and in realistic environmental conditions. Through a combination of in situ, temperature‐resolved RIXS measurements and theoretical simulations we isolated and quantified the effects of bond‐length disorder and adsorbate coverage (CO and H₂) on the d‐band center of 1.25 nm size Pt catalysts supported on carbon. We found that the decrease in adsorbate coverage at elevated temperatures is responsible for the d band shifts towards higher energies relative to the Fermi level, whereas the effect of the increase in bond‐length disorder on the d‐band center is negligible. Although these results were obtained for a specific case of non‐interacting support and weak temperature dependence of the metal–metal bond length in a model catalyst, this work can be extended to a broad range of real catalysts.     

氢还原重量法测定海绵钯产品灼烧损失量的研究

系统地研究了氢还原重量法测定海绵钯灼烧损失量的条件,考察了非金属杂质元素含量对分析结果的影响,并将本法结果与热重法的测定结果进行对照。结果表明:1~2g样品,氢还原分段升温至800℃,重量法测定海绵钯中0.0019%,0.0142%,0.0302%和0.0694%灼烧损失量的极差、标准偏差(S)、相对标准偏差(RSD)和重复性限(r)分别为±0.0005%~0.0028%,0.0001%~0.0007%,1.0%~5.2%和0.0003%~0.0020%。灼烧损失量主要由氧、氮含量组成,碳含量对其影响忽略不计。方法结果准确、精密,且与热重法的分析结果吻合,能够满足99.90%~99.99%的海绵钯产品的分析要求。     

Phosphine Ligands in the Palladium‐Catalysed Methoxycarbonylation of Ethene: Insights into the Catalytic Cycle through an HP NMR Spectroscopic Study

Novel cis‐1,2‐bis(di‐tert‐butyl‐phosphinomethyl) carbocyclic ligands 6 – 9 have been prepared and the corresponding palladium complexes [Pd(O₃SCH₃)(L‐L)][O₃SCH₃] (L‐ L=diphosphine) 32 – 35 synthesised and characterised by NMR spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction. These diphosphine ligands give very active catalysts for the palladium‐catalysed methoxycarbonylation of ethene. The activity varies with the size of the carbocyclic backbone, ligands 7 and 9 , containing four‐ and six‐membered ring backbones giving more active systems. The acid used as co‐catalyst has a strong influence on the activity, with excess trifluoroacetic acid affording the highest conversion, whereas excess methyl sulfonic acid inhibits the catalytic system. An in operando NMR spectroscopic mechanistic study has established the catalytic cycle and resting state of the catalyst under operating reaction conditions. Although the catalysis follows the hydride pathway, the resting state is shown to be the hydride precursor complex [Pd(O₃SCH₃)(L‐ L)][O₃SCH₃], which demonstrates that an isolable/detectable hydride complex is not a prerequisite for this mechanism.     

Oxoanionic Noble Metal Compounds from Fuming Nitric Acid: The Palladium Examples Pd(NO3)2 and Pd(CH3SO3)2

The oxidation of elemental palladium at 100 °C in a mixture of fuming nitric acid and a pyridine‐SO₃ complex leads to the anhydrous nitrate Pd(NO₃)₂ (monoclinic, P2₁/n, Z=2, a=469.12(3) pm, b=593.89(3) pm, c=805.72(4) pm, β=105.989(3)°, V=215.79(2) ų). The Pd²⁺ ions are in square‐planar coordination with four monodentate nitrate groups which are connected to further palladium atoms, leading to a layer structure. The reaction of elemental palladium with a mixture of fuming nitric acid and methanesulfonic acid at 120 °C leads to single crystals of Pd(CH₃SO₃)₂ (monoclinic, P2₁/n, Z=2, a=480.44(1) pm, b=1085.53(3) pm, c=739.78(2) pm, β=102.785(1)°, V=376.254(17) ų). Also in this structure the Pd²⁺ ions are in square‐planar coordination with four monodentate anions; however, the connection to adjacent palladium atoms leads to a chain‐type structure. The thermal decomposition of the compounds has been investigated by means of DSC/TG measurements. Furthermore, IR and Raman spectra have been recorded, and an assignment of the observed vibrational frequencies has been carried out based on theoretical investigations.     

Assembly of Palladium(II) and Platinum(II) Metallo‐Rectangles with a Guanosine‐Substituted Terpyridine and Study of Their Interactions with Quadruplex DNA

Two novel [2+2] metallo‐assemblies based on a guanosine‐substituted terpyridine ligand ( 1 ) coordinated to palladium(II) ( 2 a ) and platinum(II) ( 2 b ) are reported. These supramolecular assemblies have been fully characterized by NMR spectroscopy, ESI mass spectrometry and elemental analyses. The palladium(II) complex ( 2 a ) has also been characterized by single crystal X‐ray diffraction studies confirming that the system is a [2+2] metallo‐rectangle in the solid state. The stabilities of these [2+2] assemblies in solution have been confirmed by DOSY studies as well as by variable temperature ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The ability of these dinuclear complexes to interact with quadruplex and duplex DNA was investigated by fluorescent intercalator displacement (FID) assays, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) melting studies, and electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS). These studies have shown that both these assemblies interact selectively with quadruplex DNA (human telomeric DNA and the G‐rich promoter region of c‐myc oncogene) over duplex DNA, and are able to induce dimerization of parallel G‐quadruplex structures.