Mechanism-Guided Kinetic Analysis of Electrocatalytic Proton Reduction Mediated by a Cobalt Catalyst Bearing a Pendant Basic Site.

Cobalt polypyridyl complexes stand out as efficient catalysts for electrochemical proton reduction, but investigations into their operating mechanisms, with broad-reaching implications in catalyst design, have been limited. Herein, we investigate the catalytic activity of a cobalt(II) polypyridyl complex bearing a pendant pyridyl base with a series of organic acids spanning 20 pKa units in acetonitrile. Structural analysis, as well as electrochemical studies, reveals that the Co(III) hydride intermediate is formed through reduction of the Co(II) catalyst followed by direct metal protonation in the initial EC step despite the presence of the pendant base, which is commonly thought of as a more kinetically accessible protonation site. Protonation of the pendant base occurs after the Co(III) hydride intermediate is further reduced in the overall ECEC pathway. Additionally, when the acid used is sufficiently strong, the Co(II) catalyst can be protonated, and the Co(III) hydride can react directly with acid to release H2. With thorough mechanistic understanding, the appropriate electroanalytical methods were identified to extract rate constants for the elementary steps over a range of conditions. Thermodynamic square schemes relating catalytic intermediates proposed in the three electrocatalytic HER mechanisms were constructed. These findings reveal a full description of the HER electrocatalysis mediated by this molecular system and provide insights into strategies to improve synthetic fuel-forming catalysts operative through metal hydride intermediates.

Open-Cage Copper Complexes Modulate Coordination and Charge Transfer.

This study presents a novel copper-based redox shuttle that employs the PY5 pentadentate polypyridyl ligand in a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The [Cu(PY5)]2+ complex exhibits a unique five-coordinate square pyramidal geometry, characterized by a strategically labile axial position, to facilitate efficient dye regeneration while minimizing electron recombination, thereby enhancing DSSC performance. Notably, the inclusion of 4-tert-butylpyridine (TBP) as an additive is shown to significantly modulate the electrochemical and photophysical properties of the copper complexes, attributed to its coordination to the vacant axial site. This interaction leads to an improved open-circuit voltage and overall device efficiency, with the complexes achieving promising efficiencies under standard solar irradiance. The findings underscore the potential of utilizing copper-based redox shuttles with designed ligand geometries to overcome the limitations of current DSSC materials, opening new avenues for the design and optimization of solar energy conversion devices. This work not only contributes to the fundamental understanding of the behavior of copper complexes in DSSCs but also paves the way for future research aimed at exploiting the full potential of such geometrical and electronic configurations for the development of more robust and efficient solar energy solutions.

BiVO4-Liquid Junction Photovoltaic Cell with 0.2% Solar Energy Conversion Efficiency.

BiVO4 is an important photoanode material for water oxidation, but its photoelectrochemistry regarding the triiodide/iodide redox couple is not well understood. Here, we use a combination of open circuit potential measurements, photoelectrochemical scans, and liquid surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPS) to confirm that BiVO4/triiodide/iodide electrolyte contacts produce up to 0.55 V photovoltage under 23 mW/cm-2 illumination from a 470 nm LED. Inspired by these results, we construct FTO/BiVO4/KI(I2)aq/Pt sandwich photoelectrochemical cells from electrochemically grown 0.5 × 0.5 cm2 BiVO4 and Mo-doped BiVO4 films. Under AM 1.5 illumination, the devices have up to 0.22% energy conversion efficiency, 0.32 V photovoltage, and 1.8 mA cm-2 photocurrent. Based on SPS, hole transfer to iodide is sufficiently fast to prevent the competing water oxidation reaction. Mo doping increases the incident photon-to-current efficiency to up to 55% (at 425 nm under front illumination) by improving the BiVO4 conductivity, but this comes at the expense of a lower photovoltage resulting from recombination at the Mo defects and a detrimental Schottky junction at the interface with FTO. Additional photovoltage losses are caused by the offset between the BiVO4 valence band edge and the triiodide/iodide electrochemical potential and by electron back transfer to iodide at the FTO back contact (shunting). Overall, this work provides the first example of a BiVO4-liquid photovoltaic cell and an analysis of its limitations. Even though the larger band gaps of metal oxides constrain their solar energy conversion efficiency, their transparency to visible light and deep valence bands makes them suitable for tandem photovoltaic devices.

Deciphering the Mechanism of Base-Triggered Conversion of Ammonia to Molecular Nitrogen and Methylamine to Cyanide.

We report an in-depth investigation into the ammonia oxidation mechanism by the catalyst [RuIII(tpy)(dmabpy)NH3]3+ ([Ru(NH3)]3+). Stoichiometric reactions of [Ru(NH3)]3+ were carried out with exogenous noncoordinating bases to trigger a proposed redox disproportionation reaction, which was followed using variable-temperature NMR spectroscopy. An intermediate species was identified as a dinitrogen-bridged complex using 15N NMR and Raman spectroscopy on isotopically labeled complexes. This intermediate is proposed to derive from coupling of nitridyl species formed upon sequential redox disproportion reactions. Acetonitrile displaces the dinitrogen bridge to yield free N2. DFT calculations support this lower-energy pathway versus that previously reported for ammonia oxidation by the parent [RuIII(tpy)(bpy)NH3]3+ complex. These experimental and computational results are consistent with the interpretation of redox disproportionation involving sequential hydrogen atom transfer reactions by an amide/aminyl intermediate, [Ru(NH2)-]+ ⇔ [Ru(NH2)•]+, formed upon deprotonation of the parent complex. Control experiments employing a large excess of ammonia as a base indicate this new proposed lower-energy pathway contributes to the oxidation of ammonia to dinitrogen in conditions relevant to electrocatalysis. In addition, analogous methylamine complexes, [Ru(NH2CH3)]2+/3+, were prepared to further test the proposed mechanism. Treating [Ru(NH2CH3)]3+ with a base cleanly yields two products [Ru(NH2CH3)]2+ and [Ru(CN)]+ in an ∼3:1 ratio, fully consistent with the proposed cascade of hydrogen atom transfer reactions by an intermediate.

Molecular Switch Cobalt Redox Shuttle with a Tunable Hexadentate Ligand.

Strong-field hexadentate ligands were synthesized and coordinated to cobalt metal centers to result in three new low-spin to low-spin Co(III/II) redox couples. The ligand backbone has been modified with dimethyl amine groups to result in redox potential tuning of the Co(III/II) redox couples from -200 to -430 mV versus Fc+/0. The redox couples surprisingly undergo a reversible molecular switch rearrangement from five-coordinate Co(II) to six-coordinate Co(III) despite the ligands being hexadentate. The complexes exhibit modestly faster electron self-exchange rate constants of 2.2-4.2 M-1 s-1 compared to the high-spin to low-spin redox couple [Co(bpy)3]3+/2+ at 0.27 M-1 s-1, which is attributed to the change in spin state being somewhat offset by this coordination switching behavior. The complexes were utilized as redox shuttles in dye-sensitized solar cells with the near-IR AP25 + D35 dye system and exhibited improved photocurrents over the [Co(bpy)3]3+/2+ redox shuttle (19.8 vs 18.0 mA/cm2). Future directions point toward pairing the low-spin to low-spin Co(II/III) tunable series to dyes with significantly more negative highest occupied molecular orbital potentials that absorb into the near-IR where outer sphere redox shuttles have failed to produce efficient dye regeneration.

Crystallographic Effects of GaN Nanostructures in Photoelectrochemical Reaction.

Tuning the surface structure of the photoelectrode provides one of the most effective ways to address the critical challenges in artificial photosynthesis, such as efficiency, stability, and product selectivity, for which gallium nitride (GaN) nanowires have shown great promise. In the GaN wurtzite crystal structure, polar, semipolar, and nonpolar planes coexist and exhibit very different structural, electronic, and chemical properties. Here, through a comprehensive study of the photoelectrochemical performance of GaN photocathodes in the form of films and nanowires with controlled surface polarities we show that significant photoelectrochemical activity can be observed when the nonpolar surfaces are exposed in the electrolyte, whereas little or no activity is measured from the GaN polar c-plane surfaces. The atomic origin of this fundamental difference is further revealed through density functional theory calculations. This study provides guideline on crystal facet engineering of metal-nitride photo(electro)catalysts for a broad range of artificial photosynthesis chemical reactions.

Recent Advances and Challenges of Electrocatalytic N2 Reduction to Ammonia.

Global ammonia production reached 175 million metric tons in 2016, 90% of which is produced from high purity N2 and H2 gases at high temperatures and pressures via the Haber-Bosch process. Reliance on natural gas for H2 production results in large energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Concerns of human-induced climate change are spurring an international scientific effort to explore new approaches to ammonia production and reduce its carbon footprint. Electrocatalytic N2 reduction to ammonia is an attractive alternative that can potentially enable ammonia synthesis under milder conditions in small-scale, distributed, and on-site electrolysis cells powered by renewable electricity generated from solar or wind sources. This review provides a comprehensive account of theoretical and experimental studies on electrochemical nitrogen fixation with a focus on the low selectivity for reduction of N2 to ammonia versus protons to H2. A detailed introduction to ammonia detection methods and the execution of control experiments is given as they are crucial to the accurate reporting of experimental findings. The main part of this review focuses on theoretical and experimental progress that has been achieved under a range of conditions. Finally, comments on current challenges and potential opportunities in this field are provided.

Homogeneous electrocatalytic oxidation of ammonia to N2 under mild conditions.

We report that ruthenium polypyridyl complexes can catalyze ammonia oxidation to dinitrogen at room temperature and ambient pressure. During bulk electrolysis experiments, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis of the headspace in the electrochemical cell showed that dinitrogen and dihydrogen are generated from ammonia with high faradaic efficiencies. A proposed mechanism where a hydrazine complex is the initial N-N bonded intermediate is supported by chemical and electrochemical experiments. This is a well-defined system for homogeneous electrocatalytic ammonia oxidation. It establishes a platform for answering mechanistic questions relevant to using ammonia to store and distribute renewable energy.

Spin-Doctoring Cobalt Redox Shuttles for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

A new low-spin (LS) cobalt(II) outer-sphere redox shuttle (OSRS) [Co(PY5Me2)(CN)]+, where PY5Me2 represents the pentadentate ligand 2,6-bis(1,1-bis(2-pyridyl)ethyl)pyridine, has been synthesized and characterized for its potential application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Introduction of the strong field CN- ligand into the open axial coordination site forced the cobalt(II) complex, [Co(PY5Me2)(CN)]+, to become LS based upon the complex's magnetic susceptibility (1.91 ± 0.02 µB), determined by the Evans method. Interestingly, dimerization and subsequent cobalt hexacyanide cluster formation of the [Co(PY5Me2)(CN)]+ monomer was observed upon long-term solvent exposure or addition of a supporting electrolyte for electrochemical characterization. Although long-term stability of the [Co(PY5Me2)(CN)]+ complex made it difficult to fabricate liquid electrolytes for DSSC applications, short-term stability in neat solvent afforded the opportunity to isolate the self-exchange kinetics of [Co(PY5Me2)(CN)]2+/+ via stopped-flow spectroscopy. Use of Marcus theory provided a smaller than expected self-exchange rate constant of 20 ± 5.5 M-1 s-1 for [Co(PY5Me2)(CN)]2+/+, which we attribute to a Jahn-Teller effect observed from the collected monomer crystallographic data. When compared side-by-side to cobalt tris(2,2'-bipyridine), [Co(bpy)3]3+, DSSCs employing [Co(PY5Me2)(CN)]2+ are expected to achieve superior charge collection, which result from a smaller rate constant, ket, for recombination based upon simple dark J- E measurements of the two redox shuttles. Given the negative redox potential (0.254 V vs NHE) of [Co(PY5Me2)(CN)]2+/+ and the slow recombination kinetics, [Co(PY5Me2)(CN)]2+/+ becomes an attractive OSRS to regenerate near IR absorbing sensitizers in solid-state DSSC devices.

Selective Electrodeposition of Tantalum(V) Oxide Electrodes.

Thin films of TaOxHy were cathodically electrodeposited from an aqueous solution containing Ta-IPA precursor and KNO3 as a sacrificial agent. It was shown that the deposition resulted from a precipitation reaction triggered by the local change of pH at the surface of working electrode. Combined structural and compositional analysis revealed that during the electrodeposition the oxidation state of tantalum remained constant, Ta(V). The as-deposited films are mesoporous amorphous tantalum oxide hydrate films, which can be converted to either pure Ta2O5 or Ta3N5 by high-temperature annealing in either air (or Ar) or ammonia, respectively. The Ta3N5 electrodes exhibited promising PEC activity for water oxidation. These results open the door for the reduced temperature synthesis of Ta3N5 electrodes on TCO substrates which would allow for efficient overall solar water splitting.

The potential versus current state of water splitting with hematite.

This review describes the potential of hematite as a photoanode material for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The current understanding of key loss-mechanisms of hematite are introduced and correlated to performance enhancement strategies. The significant voltage loss associated with overcoming the competitive water oxidation and surface state recombination has recently been surmounted through a combination of high temperature annealing and surface modification with water oxidation catalysts. Substantial efforts have been made at nanostructuring electrodes to increase the charge separation efficiency without sacrificing light absorption. Even in optimized nanostructured electrodes, however, charge separation continues to be the primary barrier to achieving efficient water splitting with hematite. Specifically, significant depletion region recombination results in voltage dependant photocurrent which constrains the fill factor. Thus, future directions to enhance the efficiency of hematite electrodes are discussed with an emphasis on circumventing depletion region recombination.

Band energies of nanoparticle semiconductor electrodes determined by spectroelectrochemical measurements of free electrons.

Nanostructured semiconductor electrodes have garnered intense recent interest for use in various solar energy conversion systems since they offer the possibilities of circumventing low efficiencies associated with short diffusion length bulk materials as well as optimizing light absorption in dye-sensitized solar cells. In such context, knowledge of the conduction (ECB) and valence band (EVB) edge positions are the most important electronic properties in order to optimize performance and obtain a detailed understanding of relevant electron-transfer processes. However, there is no reliable direct method to measure the band edges in nanostructured semiconductor electrodes. Spectroeletrochemical methods have been utilized, but the nature of the absorbing species and interpretation of results are unsettled issues. Herein we describe a new simple spectroelectrochemical method which simultaneously produces the conduction band energy and the extinction coefficient, ε, of free conduction band electrons in nanoparticle TiO2 electrodes.

Photoelectrochemical and impedance spectroscopic investigation of water oxidation with "Co-Pi"-coated hematite electrodes.

Uniform thin films of hematite (α-Fe(2)O(3)) deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) coated with varying amounts of the cobalt phosphate catalyst, "Co-Pi," were investigated with steady-state and transient photoelectrochemical measurements and impedance spectroscopy. Systematic studies as a function of Co-Pi thickness were performed in order to clarify the mechanism by which Co-Pi enhances the water-splitting performance of hematite electrodes. It was found that under illumination, the Co-Pi catalyst can efficiently collect and store photogenerated holes from the hematite electrode. This charge separation reduces surface state recombination which results in increased water oxidation efficiency. It was also found that thicker Co-Pi films produced increased water oxidation efficiencies which is attributed to a combination of superior charge separation and increased surface area of the porous catalytic film. These combined results provide important new understanding of the enhancement and limitations of the Co-Pi catalyst coupled with semiconductor electrodes for water-splitting applications.

Measurements and modeling of recombination from nanoparticle TiO2 electrodes.

Electron-transfer reactions from nanoparticle TiO(2) films to outer-sphere redox shuttles were investigated. Steady-state dark current density versus applied potential and open circuit voltage decay measurements were employed to determine the rates of recombination to cobalt(III) tris(4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridyl), [Co(Me(2)bpy)(3)](3+), and ruthenium(III) bis(2,2'-bipyridyl)-bis(N-methylimidozole), [Ru(bpy)(2)(MeIm)(2)](3+). A striking difference in the magnitude as well as the shape of the electron lifetimes for TiO(2) electrodes in contact with these two redox shuttles is observed. A model based on Marcus theory is developed to describe recombination, including contributions from conduction band electrons and surface states. Excellent agreement was found between the modeled and measured lifetimes. The model allows for identification of each contributing component of electron transfer to the measured lifetimes. Comparison of the different components of the modeled lifetimes to the measured lifetimes provides clear evidence for recombination mediated through surface states.

Spatially resolved sources of dark current from TiO2 nanoparticle electrodes.

The properties of TiO(2) and polyphenyl oxide (PPO) blocking layers were compared using a highly positive redox shuttle in dye-sensitized solar cells. The dark current versus applied potential curve was found to be composed of two separate current features. Cyclic voltammetric and impedance measurements were performed to identify the source of the two features. The first feature results from electron transfer from the TiO(2) blocking layer and the first layer of the TiO(2) nanoparticle film contacting the substrate. The second onset of dark current results from the transport resistance in the nanoparticle film decreasing, thus allowing electron transfer to occur throughout the film. It is further demonstrated that PPO prevents back electron transfer from the conductive substrate to the redox shuttle across the entire potential range studied; however, the TiO(2) blocking layer is active and participates in electron transfer at rates similar to those of the TiO(2) nanoparticle film.

Photoelectrochemical investigation of ultrathin film iron oxide solar cells prepared by atomic layer deposition.

Atomic layer deposition was used to grow conformal thin films of hematite with controlled thickness on transparent conductive oxide substrates. The hematite films were incorporated as photoelectrodes in regenerative photoelectrochemical cells employing an aqueous [Fe(CN)(6)](3-/4-) electrolyte. Steady state current density versus applied potential measurements under monochromatic and simulated solar illumination were used to probe the photoelectrochemical properties of the hematite electrodes as a function of film thickness. Combining the photoelectrochemical results with careful optical measurements allowed us to determine an optimal thickness for a hematite electrode of ∼20 nm. Mott-Schottky analysis of differential capacitance measurements indicated a depletion region of ∼17 nm. Thus, only charge carriers generated in the depletion region were found to contribute to the photocurrent.

Interfacial Engineering at Quantum Dot-Sensitized TiO2 Photoelectrodes for Ultrahigh Photocurrent Generation.

Metal oxide semiconductor/chalcogenide quantum dot (QD) heterostructured photoanodes show photocurrent densities >30 mA/cm2 with ZnO, approaching the theoretical limits in photovoltaic (PV) cells. However, comparative performance has not been achieved with TiO2. Here, we applied a TiO2(B) surface passivation layer (SPL) on TiO2/QD (PbS and CdS) and achieved a photocurrent density of 34.59 mA/cm2 under AM 1.5G illumination for PV cells, the highest recorded to date. The SPL improves electron conductivity by increasing the density of surface states, facilitating multiple trapping/detrapping transport, and increasing the coordination number of TiO2 nanoparticles. This, along with impeded electron recombination, led to enhanced collection efficiency, which is a major factor for performance. Furthermore, SPL-treated TiO2/QD photoanodes were successfully exploited in photoelectrochemical water splitting cells, showing an excellent photocurrent density of 14.43 mA/cm2 at 0.82 V versus the Reversible Hydrogen Electrode (RHE). These results suggest a new promising strategy for the development of high-performance photoelectrochemical devices.

Interface passivation to overcome shunting in semiconductor-catalyst junctions.

High-performance mesoporous hematite photoanodes modified with a conductive water oxidation catalyst, Ni0.75Fe0.25OxHy, for photoelectrochemical water oxidation are limited by shunting. We present a general method to overcome shunting via the selective electrodeposition of a thin poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) insulating layer onto the exposed transparent conductive oxide substrate following catalyst deposition.

Charge-Carrier Dynamics at the CuWO4/Electrocatalyst Interface for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation.

Unraveling the charge-carrier dynamics at electrocatalyst/electrode interfaces is critical for the development of efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation. Unlike the majority of photoanodes investigated for PEC water oxidation, the integration of electrocatalysts with CuWO4 electrodes generally results in comparable or worse performance compared to the bare electrode. This is despite the fact that the surface state recombination limits the water oxidation efficiency with CuWO4 electrodes, and an electrocatalyst ought to bypass this reaction and improve performance. Here, we present results that deepen the understanding of the energetics and electron-transfer processes at the CuWO4/electrocatalyst interface, which controls the performance of such systems. Ni0.75Fe0.25Oy (denoted as Ni75) was chosen as a model electrocatalyst, and through dual-working electrode experiments, we have been able to provide significant insight into the role of the electrocatalyst on the charge-transfer process at the CuWO4/Ni75 interface. We have shown a lack of performance improvement for CuWO4/Ni75 relative to the bare electrode to water oxidation. We attribute this surprising result to water oxidation on the CuWO4 surface kinetically outcompeting hole transfer to the Ni75 electrocatalyst interface.