Direct H2O2 Synthesis, without H2 Gas.

We report here the direct hydrogenation of O2 gas to form hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) using a membrane reactor without H2 gas. Hydrogen is sourced from water, and the reactor is driven by electricity. Hydrogenation chemistry is achieved using a hydrogen-permeable Pd foil that separates an electrolysis chamber that generates reactive H atoms, from a hydrogenation chamber where H atoms react with O2 to form H2O2. Our results show that the concentration of H2O2 can be increased ∼8 times (from 56.5 to 443 mg/L) by optimizing the ratio of methanol-to-water in the chemical chamber, and through catalyst design. We demonstrate that the concentration of H2O2 is acutely sensitive to the H2O2 decomposition rate. This decomposition rate can be minimized by using AuPd alloy catalysts instead of pure Pd. This study presents a new pathway to directly synthesize H2O2 using water electrolysis without ever using H2 gas.

Rhenium Complexes of Pyridyl-Mesoionic Carbenes: Photochemical Properties and Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction.

Mesoionic carbenes have found wide use as components of homogeneous catalysts. Recent discoveries have, however, shown that metal complexes of such ligands also have huge potential in photochemical research and in the activation of small molecules. We present here three ReI complexes with mesoionic pyridyl-carbene ligands. The complexes display reduction steps which were investigated via UV-vis-NIR-IR spectro-electrochemistry, and these results point toward an EC mechanism. The ReI compounds emit in the visible range in solution at room temperature with excited state lifetimes that are dependent on the substituents of the mesoionic carbenes. These complexes are also potent electrocatalysts for the selective reduction of CO2 to CO. Whereas the substituents on the carbenes have no influence on the reduction potentials, the electrocatalytic efficiency is strongly dependent on the substituents. This fact is likely a result of catalyst instability. The results presented here thus introduce mesoionic carbenes as new potent ligands for the generation of emissive ReI complexes and for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction.

Halogen Bonding Promotes Higher Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Photovoltages.

We report here an enhancement in photovoltage for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) where halogen-bonding interactions exist between a nucleophilic electrolyte species (I(-)) and a photo-oxidized dye immobilized on a TiO2 surface. The triarylamine-based dyes under investigation showed larger rate constants for dye regeneration (kreg) by the nucleophilic electrolyte species when heavier halogen substituents were positioned on the dye. The open-circuit voltages (VOC) tracked these kreg values. This analysis of a homologous series of dyes that differ only in the identity of two halogen substituents provides compelling evidence that the DSSC photovoltage is sensitive to kreg. This study also provides the first direct evidence that halogen-bonding interactions between the dye and the electrolyte can bolster DSSC performance.

Evidence for Interfacial Halogen Bonding.

A homologous series of donor-π-acceptor dyes was synthesized, differing only in the identity of the halogen substituents about the triphenylamine (TPA; donor) portion of each molecule. Each Dye-X (X=F, Cl, Br, and I) was immobilized on a TiO2 surface to investigate how the halogen substituents affect the reaction between the light-induced charge-separated state, TiO2 (e(-) )/Dye-X(+) , with iodide in solution. Transient absorption spectroscopy showed progressively faster reactivity towards nucleophilic iodide with more polarizable halogen substituents: Dye-F < Dye-Cl < Dye-Br < Dye-I. Given that all other structural and electronic properties for the series are held at parity, with the exception of an increasingly larger electropositive σ-hole on the heavier halogens, the differences in dye regeneration kinetics for Dye-Cl, Dye-Br, and Dye-I are ascribed to the extent of halogen bonding with the nucleophilic solution species.

A self-driving laboratory advances the Pareto front for material properties.

Useful materials must satisfy multiple objectives, where the optimization of one objective is often at the expense of another. The Pareto front reports the optimal trade-offs between these conflicting objectives. Here we use a self-driving laboratory, Ada, to define the Pareto front of conductivities and processing temperatures for palladium films formed by combustion synthesis. Ada discovers new synthesis conditions that yield metallic films at lower processing temperatures (below 200 °C) relative to the prior art for this technique (250 °C). This temperature difference makes possible the coating of different commodity plastic materials (e.g., Nafion, polyethersulfone). These combustion synthesis conditions enable us to to spray coat uniform palladium films with moderate conductivity (1.1 × 105 S m-1) at 191 °C. Spray coating at 226 °C yields films with conductivities (2.0 × 106 S m-1) comparable to those of sputtered films (2.0 to 5.8 × 106 S m-1). This work shows how a self-driving laboratoy can discover materials that provide optimal trade-offs between conflicting objectives.

Spectroscopic detection of halogen bonding resolves dye regeneration in the dye-sensitized solar cell.

The interactions between a surface-adsorbed dye and a soluble redox-active electrolyte species in the dye-sensitized solar cell has a significant impact on the rate of regeneration of photo-oxidized dye molecules and open-circuit voltage of the device. Dyes must therefore be designed to encourage these interfacial interactions, but experimentally resolving how such weak interactions affect electron transfer is challenging. Herein, we use X-ray absorption spectroscopy to confirm halogen bonding can exist at the dye-electrolyte interface. Using a known series of triphenylamine-based dyes bearing halogen substituents geometrically positioned for reaction with halides in solution, halogen bonding was detected only in cases where brominated and iodinated dyes were photo-oxidized. This result implies that weak intermolecular interactions between photo-oxidized dyes and the electrolyte can impact device photovoltages. This result was unexpected considering the low concentration of oxidized dyes (less than 1 in 100,000) under full solar illumination.

Kinetic pathway for interfacial electron transfer from a semiconductor to a molecule.

Molecular approaches to solar-energy conversion require a kinetic optimization of light-induced electron-transfer reactions. At molecular-semiconductor interfaces, this optimization has previously been accomplished through control of the distance between the semiconductor donor and the molecular acceptor and/or the free energy that accompanies electron transfer. Here we show that a kinetic pathway for electron transfer from a semiconductor to a molecular acceptor also exists and provides an alternative method for the control of interfacial kinetics. The pathway was identified by the rational design of molecules in which the distance and the driving force were held near parity and only the geometric torsion about a xylyl- or phenylthiophene bridge was varied. Electronic coupling through the phenyl bridge was a factor of ten greater than that through the xylyl bridge. Comparative studies revealed a significant bridge dependence for electron transfer that could not be rationalized by a change in distance or driving force. Instead, the data indicate an interfacial electron-transfer pathway that utilizes the aromatic bridge orbitals.