Jian Hengxin, Lu Mengyu, Zheng Haowen, Yan Shengrui, Wang Mei
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute for New Energy Materials & Low Carbon Technologies, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China.
Molecules. 2024 Jan 24;29(3):578. doi: 10.3390/molecules29030578.
Mimicking the photosynthesis of green plants to combine water oxidation with CO reduction is of great significance for solving energy and environmental crises. In this context, a trinuclear nickel complex, [Ni(paoH)(PhPO)]·2ClO (), with a novel structure has been constructed with PhPO (phenylphosphonate) and paoH (2-pyridine formaldehyde oxime) ligands and possesses a reflection symmetry with a mirror plane revealed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Bulk electrocatalysis demonstrates that complex can homogeneously catalyze water oxidation and CO reduction simultaneously. It can catalyze water oxidation at a near-neutral condition of pH = 7.45 with a high TOF of 12.2 s, and the Faraday efficiency is as high as 95%. Meanwhile, it also exhibits high electrocatalytic activity for CO reduction towards CO with a TOF of 7.84 s in DMF solution. The excellent electrocatalytic performance of the water oxidation and CO reduction of complex could be attributed to the two unique -PhPO bridges as the crucial factor for stabilizing the trinuclear molecule as well as the proton transformation during the catalytic process, while the oxime groups modulate the electronic structure of the metal centers via π back-bonding. Therefore, apart from the cooperation effect of the three Ni centers for catalysis, simultaneously, the two kinds of ligands in complex can also synergistically coordinate the central metal, thereby significantly promoting its catalytic performance. Complex represents the first nickel molecular electrocatalyst for both water oxidation and CO reduction. The findings in this work open an avenue for designing efficient molecular electrocatalysts with peculiar ligands.
模拟绿色植物的光合作用,将水氧化与CO还原相结合,对于解决能源和环境危机具有重要意义。在此背景下,一种具有新颖结构的三核镍配合物[Ni(paoH)(PhPO)]·2ClO( )已通过苯基膦酸酯(PhPO)和2-吡啶甲醛肟(paoH)配体构建而成,并且通过单晶X射线衍射显示具有一个镜面的反射对称性。本体电催化表明配合物 可以同时均相催化水氧化和CO还原。它可以在pH = 7.45的近中性条件下催化水氧化,TOF高达12.2 s,法拉第效率高达95%。同时,它在DMF溶液中对CO还原为CO也表现出高电催化活性,TOF为7.84 s。配合物 在水氧化和CO还原方面的优异电催化性能可归因于两个独特的-PhPO桥,这是稳定三核分子以及催化过程中质子转化的关键因素,而肟基通过π反馈键调节金属中心的电子结构。因此,除了三个Ni中心的协同催化作用外,同时配合物 中的两种配体也可以协同配位中心金属,从而显著提高其催化性能。配合物 是首个用于水氧化和CO还原的镍分子电催化剂。这项工作中的发现为设计具有特殊配体的高效分子电催化剂开辟了一条途径。