Redox Mediator Effect on Water Oxidation in a Ruthenium-Based Chromophore–Catalyst Assembly

A Semiconductor-Mediator-Catalyst Artificial Photosynthetic System for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation

In fabricating an artificial photosynthesis (AP) electrode for water oxidation, we have devised a semiconductor-mediator-catalyst structure that mimics photosystem II (PSII). It is based on a surface layer of vertically grown nanorods of Fe₂ O₃ on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) electrodes with a carbazole mediator base and a Ru(II) carbene complex on a nanolayer of TiO₂ as a water oxidation co-catalyst. The resulting hybrid assembly, FTO|Fe₂ O₃ |-carbazole|TiO₂ |-Ru(carbene), demonstrates an enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation performance compared to an electrode without the added carbaozle base with an increase in photocurrent density of 2.2-fold at 0.95 V vs. NHE and a negatively shifted onset potential of 500 mV. The enhanced PEC performance is attributable to carbazole mediator accelerated interfacial hole transfer from Fe₂ O₃ to the Ru(II) carbene co-catalyst, with an improved effective surface area for the water oxidation reaction and reduced charge transfer resistance.

Systematic Influence of Electronic Modification of Ligands on the Catalytic Rate of Water Oxidation by a Single-Site Ru-Based Catalyst

Catalytic water oxidation is an important process for the development of clean energy solutions and energy storage. Despite the significant number of reports on active catalysts, systematic control of the catalytic activity remains elusive. In this study, descriptors are explored that can be correlated with catalytic activity. [Ru(tpy)(pic)₂ (H₂ O)](NO₃ )₂ and [Ru(EtO-tpy)(pic)₂ (H₂ O)](NO₃ )₂ (where tpy=2,2' : 6',2"-terpyridine, EtO-tpy=4'-(ethoxy)-2,2':6',2"-terpyridine, pic=4-picoline) are synthesized and characterized by NMR, UV/Vis, EPR, resonance Raman, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and electrochemical analysis. Addition of the ethoxy group increases the catalytic activity in chemically driven and photocatalytic water oxidation. Thus, the effect of the electron-donating group known for the [Ru(tpy)(bpy)(H₂ O)]²⁺ family is transferable to architectures with a tpy ligand trans to the Ru-oxo unit. Under catalytic conditions, [Ru(EtO-tpy)(pic)₂ (H₂ O)](NO₃ )₂ displays new spectroscopic signals tentatively assigned to a peroxo intermediate. Reaction pathways were analyzed by using DFT calculations. [Ru(EtO-tpy)(pic)₂ (H₂ O)](NO₃ )₂ is found to be one of the most active catalysts functioning by a water nucleophilic attack mechanism.

Dye-sensitized solar cells strike back

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) are celebrating their 30th birthday and they are attracting a wealth of research efforts aimed at unleashing their full potential. In recent years, DSCs and dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells (DSPECs) have experienced a renaissance as the best technology for several niche applications that take advantage of DSCs' unique combination of properties: at low cost, they are composed of non-toxic materials, are colorful, transparent, and very efficient in low light conditions. This review summarizes the advancements in the field over the last decade, encompassing all aspects of the DSC technology: theoretical studies, characterization techniques, materials, applications as solar cells and as drivers for the synthesis of solar fuels, and commercialization efforts from various companies.

Revisiting Dinuclear Ruthenium Water Oxidation Catalysts: Effect of Bridging Ligand Architecture on Catalytic Activity

An attractive catalytic pathway for the conversion of water to oxygen would involve two metal oxide centers combining in a constructive sense to make O═O. This prospect makes the study of certain dinuclear transition metal complexes particularly attractive. In this work, we describe the design and synthesis of two symmetrical bis-tridentate polypyridine ligands 6 and 12 that bind two Ru^II centers at a separation of 3.6 Å in 7 and 5.7 Å in 13. In the presence of Ce^IV at pH = 1, these systems oxidize water with the system having the more proximal metals being more reactive. In the case of the more proximal metal centers, the bridging ligand is a 3,6-disubstituted pyridazine which, under the influence of Ce^IV, cleaves into two [Ru(bpc)(pic)₂CH₃CN]⁺ fragments (14) which then function as the actual catalyst (bpc = 2,2'-bipyridine-6-carboxylate, pic = 4-methylpyridine). The second dinuclear catalyst contains a central pyrimidine ring which is less sensitive to oxidative decay and hence less reactive. Caution is advised in the use of Ce^IV as a sacrificial electron acceptor due to unexpected oxidative decay of the catalyst.

Kinetics and mechanisms of catalytic water oxidation

The kinetics and mechanisms of thermal and photochemical oxidation of water with homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, including conversion from homogeneous to heterogeneous catalysts in the course of water oxidation, are discussed in this review article. Molecular and homogeneous catalysts have the advantage to clarify the catalytic mechanisms by detecting active intermediates in catalytic water oxidation. On the other hand, heterogeneous nanoparticle catalysts have advantages for practical applications due to high catalytic activity, robustness and easier separation of catalysts by filtration as compared with molecular homogeneous precursors. Ligand oxidation of homogeneous catalysts sometimes results in the dissociation of ligands to form nanoparticles, which act as much more efficient catalysts for water oxidation. Since it is quite difficult to identify active intermediates on the heterogeneous catalyst surface, the mechanism of water oxidation has hardly been clarified under heterogeneous catalytic conditions. This review focuses on the kinetics and mechanisms of catalytic water oxidation with homogeneous catalysts, which may be converted to heterogeneous nanoparticle catalysts depending on various reaction conditions.

A Bpp-based dinuclear ruthenium photocatalyst for visible light-driven oxidation reactions

The photocatalytic oxidation of organic substrates in water using a diruthenium chromophore-catalyst dyad molecule can be tuned by the nature of the bridging ligand.

Octahedral Ruthenium Complex with Exclusive Metal-Centered Chirality for Highly Effective Asymmetric Catalysis

A novel ruthenium catalyst is introduced which contains solely achiral ligands and acquires its chirality entirely from octahedral centrochirality. The configurationally stable catalyst is demonstrated to catalyze the alkynylation of trifluoromethyl ketones with very high enantioselectivity (up to >99% ee) at low catalyst loadings (down to 0.2 mol%).

O–O bond formation in ruthenium-catalyzed water oxidation: single-site nucleophilic attack vs. O–O radical coupling

A review of water oxidation by ruthenium-based molecular catalysts, with emphasis on the mechanism of O–O bond formation.

Water oxidation mediated by ruthenium oxide nanoparticles supported on siliceous mesocellular foam

An efficient catalyst for chemical and photochemical water oxidation was developed by immobilization of RuO₂ nanoparticles on pyridine-functionalized mesoporous silica.

Catecholamine-functionalized graphene as a biomimetic redox shuttle for solar water oxidation

In natural photosynthesis, solar energy is converted to chemical energy through a cascaded, photoinduced charge transfer chain that consists of primary and secondary acceptor quinones (i.e., Q_A and Q_B). This leads to an exceptionally high near-unity quantum yield. Inspired by the unique multistep architecture of charge transfer in nature, we have synthesized a catecholamine-functionalized, reduced graphene oxide (RGO) film as a redox mediator that can mimic quinone acceptors in photosystem II. We used polynorepinephrine (PNE) as a redox-shuttling chemical. We also used it to coat graphene oxide (GO) and to reduce GO to RGO. The quinone ligands in PNE, which are characterized by a charge transfer involving two electrons and two protons, acted as electron acceptors that facilitated charge transfer in photocatalytic water oxidation. Furthermore, PNE-coated RGO film promoted fast charge separation in [Ru(bpy)₃]²⁺ and increased the activity of cobalt phosphate on photocatalytic water oxidation more than two-fold. The results suggest that our bio-inspired strategy for the construction of a forward charge transfer pathway can provide more opportunities to realize efficient artificial photosynthesis.

Coupling carbon dioxide reduction with water oxidation in nanoscale photocatalytic assemblies

Closing the photosynthetic cycle on the nanometer scale under membrane separation of the half reactions for developing scalable artificial photosystems.

Immobilisation of water-oxidising amphiphilic ruthenium complexes on unmodified silica gel

Amphiphilic ruthenium complexes immobilised on bare silica gel are an easily prepared heterogeneous system for photocatalytic and chemical water oxidation.

Synergistic "ping-pong" energy transfer for efficient light activation in a chromophore-catalyst dyad

The synthesis of a porphyrin-Ru(II) polypyridine complex where the porphyrin acts as a photoactive unit and the Ru(II) polypyridine as a catalytic precursor is described. Comparatively, the free base porphyrin was found to outperform the ruthenium based chromophore in the yield of light induced electron transfer. Mechanistic insights indicate the occurrence of a ping-pong energy transfer from the (1)LC excited state of the porphyrin chromophore to the (3)MCLT state of the catalyst and back to the (3)LC excited state of the porphyrin unit. The latter, triplet-triplet energy transfer back to the chromophore, efficiently competes with fast radiationless deactivation of the excited state at the catalyst site. The energy thus recovered by the chromophore allows improved yield of formation of the oxidized form of the chromophore and concomitantly of the oxidation of the catalytic unit by intramolecular charge transfer. The presented results are among the rare examples where a porphyrin chromophore is successfully used to drive an oxidative activation process where reductive processes prevail in the literature.

Cooperative effects in homogenous water oxidation catalysis by mononuclear ruthenium complexes

The homogenous water oxidation catalysis by [Ru(terpy)(bipy)Cl](+) (1) and [Ru(terpy)(Me2bipy)Cl](+) (2) (terpy = 2,2':6',2''-terpyridine, bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine, Me2bipy = 4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine) under the influence of two redox mediators [Ru(bipy)3](2+) (3) and [Ru(phen)2(Me2bipy)](2+) (4) (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) was investigated using Ce(4+) as sacrificial oxidant. Oxygen evolution experiments revealed that mixtures of both 2-4 and 2-3 produced more molecular oxygen than catalyst 2 alone. In contrast, the combination of mediator 4 and catalyst 1 resulted in a lower catalytic performance of 1. Measurements of the temporal change in the intensity of a UV transition at 261 nm caused by the addition of four equivalents of Ce(4+) to 2 revealed three distinctive regions-suggested to correspond to the stepwise processes: (i) [Ru(IV)=O](2+) → [Ru(V)=O](3+); (ii) [Ru(V)=O](3+) → [Ru(III)-(OOH)](2+); and (iii) [Ru(III)-(OOH)](2+) → [Ru(II)-OH2](2+). UV-Visible spectrophotometric experiments on the 1-4 and 2-4 mixtures, also carried out with four equivalents of Ce(4+), demonstrated a faster [Ru(phen)2(Me2bipy)](3+) → [Ru(phen)2(Me2bipy)](2+) reduction rate in 2-4 than that observed for the 1-4 combination. Cyclic voltammetry data measured for the catalysts and the mixtures revealed a coincidence in the potentials of the Ru(II)/Ru(III) redox process of mediators 3 and 4 and the predicted [Ru(IV)=O](2+)/[Ru(V)=O](3+) potential of catalyst 2. In contrast, the [Ru(IV)=O](2+)/[Ru(V)=O](3+) process for catalyst 1 was found to occur at a higher potential than the Ru(II)/Ru(III) redox process for 4. Both the spectroscopic and electrochemical experiments provide evidence that the interplay between the mediator and the catalyst is an important determinant of the catalytic activity.

Electrochemical-driven water reduction and oxidation catalyzed by an iron(iii) complex supported by 2,3-bis(2-hydroxybenzylideneimino)-2,3-butenedinitrile

One electrocatalyst, [FeLCl(H₂O)] for both water reduction and oxidation with a TOF of 808.46 moles h⁻¹ and 0.849 s⁻¹, respectively.

Polypyridyl Ru(ii)-derivatized polypropylacrylate polymer with a terminal water oxidation catalyst. Application of reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization

A ruthenium containing poly(propylmethacrylate) derivative was synthesized by RAFT polymerization and end-capped with a catalyst derivative.

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.

Controlling ground and excited state properties through ligand changes in ruthenium polypyridyl complexes

The capture and storage of solar energy requires chromophores that absorb light throughout the solar spectrum. We report here the synthesis, characterization, electrochemical, and photophysical properties of a series of Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes of the type [Ru(bpy)2(N-N)](2+) (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine; N-N is a bidentate polypyridyl ligand). In this series, the nature of the N-N ligand was altered, either through increased conjugation or incorporation of noncoordinating heteroatoms, as a way to use ligand electronic properties to tune redox potentials, absorption spectra, emission spectra, and excited state energies and lifetimes. Electrochemical measurements show that lowering the π* orbitals on the N-N ligand results in more positive Ru(3+/2+) redox potentials and more positive first ligand-based reduction potentials. The metal-to-ligand charge transfer absorptions of all of the new complexes are mostly red-shifted compared to Ru(bpy)3(2+) (λmax = 449 nm) with the lowest energy MLCT absorption appearing at λmax = 564 nm. Emission energies decrease from λmax = 650 nm to 885 nm across the series. One-mode Franck-Condon analysis of room-temperature emission spectra are used to calculate key excited state properties, including excited state redox potentials. The impacts of ligand changes on visible light absorption, excited state reduction potentials, and Ru(3+/2+) potentials are assessed in the context of preparing low energy light absorbers for application in dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cells.

Electrocatalytic water oxidation by a monomeric amidate-ligated Fe(III)-aqua complex

The six-coordinate Fe(III)-aqua complex [Fe(III)(dpaq)(H2O)](2+) (1, dpaq is 2-[bis(pyridine-2-ylmethyl)]amino-N-quinolin-8-yl-acetamido) is an electrocatalyst for water oxidation in propylene carbonate-water mixtures. An electrochemical kinetics study has revealed that water oxidation occurs by oxidation to Fe(V)(O)(2+) followed by a reaction first order in catalyst and added water, respectively, with ko = 0.035(4) M(-1) s(-1) by the single-site mechanism found previously for Ru and Ir water oxidation catalysts. Sustained water oxidation catalysis occurs at a high surface area electrode to give O2 through at least 29 turnovers over an 15 h electrolysis period with a 45% Faradaic yield and no observable decomposition of the catalyst.

Photocatalytic water oxidation at soft interfaces

Molecular water oxidation catalysts have been, for the first time, co-embedded with a photosensitizer into phospholipid membranes. The two dimensional assembly allows water oxidation at very low catalyst concentrations.