Liang Zuozhong, Zhou Guojun, Tan Huang, Mou Yonghong, Zhang Jieling, Guo Hongbo, Yang Shujiao, Lei Haitao, Zheng Haoquan, Zhang Wei, Lin Haiping, Cao Rui
Key Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, China.
School of Physics and Information Technology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, China.
Adv Mater. 2024 Sep;36(38):e2408094. doi: 10.1002/adma.202408094. Epub 2024 Aug 3.
Multinuclear metal clusters are ideal candidates to catalyze small molecule activation reactions involving the transfer of multiple electrons. However, synthesizing active metal clusters is a big challenge. Herein, on constructing an unparalleled Co(SO) cluster within porphyrin-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and the electrocatalytic features of such Co(SO) clusters for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is reported. The reaction of Co sulfate and metal complexes of tetrakis(4-pyridyl)porphyrin under solvothermal conditions afforded Co-M-MOFs (M═Co, Cu, and Zn). Crystallographic studies revealed that these Co-M-MOFs have the same framework structure, having the Co(SO) clusters connected by metalloporphyrin units through Co─N bonds. In the Co(SO) cluster, the four Co ions are chemically and symmetrically equivalent and are each coordinated with four sulfate O atoms to give a distorted cube-like structure. Electrocatalytic studies showed that these Co-M-MOFs are all active for electrocatalytic OER and ORR. Importantly, by regulating the activity of the metalloporphyrin units, it is confirmed that the Co(SO) cluster is active for oxygen electrocatalysis. With the use of Co porphyrins as connecting units, Co-Co-MOF displays the highest electrocatalytic activity in this series of MOFs by showing a 10 mA cm OER current density at 357 mV overpotential and an ORR half-wave potential at 0.83 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). Theoretical studies revealed the synergistic effect of two proximal Co atoms in the Co(SO) cluster in OER by facilitating the formation of O─O bonds. This work is of fundamental significance to present the construction of Co(SO) clusters in framework structures for oxygen electrocatalysis and to demonstrate the cooperation between two proximal Co atoms in such clusters during the O─O bond formation process.
多核金属簇是催化涉及多电子转移的小分子活化反应的理想候选物。然而,合成活性金属簇是一项巨大的挑战。在此,报道了在基于卟啉的金属有机框架(MOF)中构建独特的Co(SO)簇及其对析氧反应(OER)和氧还原反应(ORR)的电催化特性。硫酸钴与四(4-吡啶基)卟啉的金属配合物在溶剂热条件下反应得到Co-M-MOFs(M = Co、Cu和Zn)。晶体学研究表明,这些Co-M-MOFs具有相同的框架结构,Co(SO)簇通过金属卟啉单元通过Co─N键相连。在Co(SO)簇中,四个Co离子在化学和对称上是等价的,每个都与四个硫酸根O原子配位,形成扭曲的立方状结构。电催化研究表明,这些Co-M-MOFs对电催化OER和ORR均具有活性。重要的是,通过调节金属卟啉单元的活性,证实了Co(SO)簇对氧电催化具有活性。以钴卟啉作为连接单元,Co-Co-MOF在这一系列MOF中表现出最高的电催化活性,在357 mV过电位下显示出10 mA cm的OER电流密度,相对于可逆氢电极(RHE)的ORR半波电位为0.83 V。理论研究揭示了Co(SO)簇中两个相邻Co原子在OER中通过促进O─O键的形成而产生的协同效应。这项工作对于在框架结构中构建用于氧电催化的Co(SO)簇以及证明此类簇中两个相邻Co原子在O─O键形成过程中的协同作用具有重要的基础意义。