Three cobalt complexes bearing tunable,redox-active bipyridyl N-heterocyclic carbene(NHC)-based ligands have been studied for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution from aqueous solutions.The effect of structural modific...Three cobalt complexes bearing tunable,redox-active bipyridyl N-heterocyclic carbene(NHC)-based ligands have been studied for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution from aqueous solutions.The effect of structural modifications to the ligand framework is investigated across the catalyst series,which includes a non-macrocyclic derivative(1-Co)and 16-(2-Co)and 15-(3-Co)membered macrocycles.A structure-activity relationship is demonstrated,in which the macrocyclic complexes have greater activity compared to their non-macrocyclic counterpart with the most rigid catalyst,supported by the 15-membered macrocycle,performing best overall.Indeed,3-Co catalyzes H2 evolution from aqueous pH 4 acetate buffer with a Faradaic efficiency of 97%at a low overpotential of 330 mV.Mechanistic studies are consistent with formation of a cobalt-hydride species that is subsequently protonated to evolve H2 via a heterolytic pathway.展开更多
文摘Three cobalt complexes bearing tunable,redox-active bipyridyl N-heterocyclic carbene(NHC)-based ligands have been studied for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution from aqueous solutions.The effect of structural modifications to the ligand framework is investigated across the catalyst series,which includes a non-macrocyclic derivative(1-Co)and 16-(2-Co)and 15-(3-Co)membered macrocycles.A structure-activity relationship is demonstrated,in which the macrocyclic complexes have greater activity compared to their non-macrocyclic counterpart with the most rigid catalyst,supported by the 15-membered macrocycle,performing best overall.Indeed,3-Co catalyzes H2 evolution from aqueous pH 4 acetate buffer with a Faradaic efficiency of 97%at a low overpotential of 330 mV.Mechanistic studies are consistent with formation of a cobalt-hydride species that is subsequently protonated to evolve H2 via a heterolytic pathway.
