A molecular structural analog of proposed dinuclear active sites in cobalt-based water oxidation catalysts

Timothy C Davenport; Hyun S Ahn; Micah S Ziegler; T Don Tilley

doi:10.1039/c3cc46865h

A molecular structural analog of proposed dinuclear active sites in cobalt-based water oxidation catalysts

Chem Commun (Camb). 2014 Jun 18;50(48):6326-9. doi: 10.1039/c3cc46865h.

Authors

Timothy C Davenport¹, Hyun S Ahn, Micah S Ziegler, T Don Tilley

Affiliation

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-1460, USA. [email protected].

PMID: 24797957
DOI: 10.1039/c3cc46865h

Abstract

The compound [Co2(μ-OH)2(OH2)2(DPFN)][NO3]4 is a molecular structural analog of proposed active sites of cobalt phosphate water oxidation catalysts. Computational studies on this system indicate feasible catalytic pathways to oxygen formation, despite the low electrocatalytic activity observed for [Co2(μ-OH)2(OH2)2(DPFN)][NO3]4. Electrochemical and reactivity studies implicate the binding of phosphate to the dicobalt core, which may inhibit water oxidation catalysis.