Polynuclear Photocatalysts in Nanoporous Silica for Artificial Photosynthesis

In this article, recent progress towards robust photocatalysts for the visible light-driven reduction of CO2 by H2O is presented. All-inorganic polynuclear photocatalysts consisting of an oxo-bridged binuclear charge-transfer chromophore (metal-to-metal charge-transfer) coupled to a multi-electron transfer catalyst anchored in a nanoporous silica scaffold have been developed. Mild synthetic methods afford assembly, on silica nanopore surfaces, of heterobinuclear units with donor and acceptor metal centers selected for optimum solar coverage and photon to chemical energy conversion efficiency. A photocatalyst featuring a TiOCrIII group coupled to an IrO2 nanocluster on MCM-41 silica support is shown to function as an efficient visible light water oxidation unit. Nanostructured Co3O4 clusters in mesoporous silica SBA-15 constitute the first example of a nanometer-sized multi-electron catalyst made of an earth-abundant metal oxide that evolves oxygen from water efficiently. For carbon dioxide reduction, a binuclear unit consisting of a Zr acceptor and a CuI donor (ZrOCuI) acts as light absorber as well as redox site, splitting CO2 to CO and H2O upon excitation of the charge-transfer transition. Structural and mechanistic insights of the photocatalytic units based on static and time-resolved optical, FT-infrared, FT-Raman, EPR, X-ray absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy are critical for improving designs. The photocatalytic units presented here form the basis for developing robust and efficient artificial photosynthetic systems for the conversion of carbon dioxide and water to a liquid fuel

Chemistry with Red and Near Infrared Light

Opportunities are explored to initiate controlled chemistry by photolysis with long-wavelength visible and near infrared light. In one direction, bimolecular reactions are induced by exciting collisional pairs in a solid matrix to energy surfaces well below reactant dissociation limits. Examples discussed include product specific (including stereospecific) photo-oxidation of small alkenes and alkynes by NO2, and cycloaddition reactions of singlet SO and singlet O2. Conducting the chemistry in rare gas matrices allows us to elucidate elementary reaction steps by FT-IR spectroscopy of trapped intermediates, and to gain insight into the dynamics of transients by wavelength-dependent laser photochemistry. In the case of olefin epoxidations, stereochemical details of reaction paths are uncovered by chemical trapping of transient oxirane biradicals in their nascent conformation. State-specific reactions of singlet excited SO and singlet O2 with hydrocarbons illustrate how photons deep in the near infrared can be used for controlled chemical synthesis. In parallel work, excited state redox reactions in homogeneous and colloidal semiconductor solutions are explored that pertain to chemical storage of near infrared quanta and conversion into electrical energy. Examples are studies on chemical storage of singlet delta molecular oxygen (O2(1Δ)), a metastable near infrared energy carrier, its excited state redox chemistry in aqueous solution, and direct reduction of O2(1Δ), at a semiconductor electrode. Using very sensitive time resolved optical techniques, new mechanistic insight is gained on singlet O2 reactions, and on photo-oxidation of halide at the semiconductor-solution interface

In-situ Spectroscopy of Water Oxidation at Ir Oxide Nanocluster Drivenby Visible TiOCr Charge-Transfer Chromophore in Mesoporous Silica

An all-inorganic photocatalytic unit consisting of a binuclear TiOCr charge-transfer chromophore coupled to an Ir oxide nanocluster has been assembled on the pore surface of mesoporous silica AlMCM-41. In situ FT-Raman and EPR spectroscopy of an aqueous suspension of the resulting IrxOy-TiCr-AlMCM-41 powder reveal the formation of superoxide species when exciting the Ti(IV)OCr(III) --> Ti(III)OCr(IV) metal-to-metal charge-transfer chromophore with visible light. Use of H218O confirms that the superoxide species originates from oxidation of water. Photolysis in the absence of persulfate acceptor leads to accumulation of Ti(III) instead. The results are explained by photocatalytic oxidation of water at Ir oxide nanoclusters followed by trapping of the evolving O2 by transient Ti(III) centers to yield superoxide. Given the flexibility to select donor metals with appropriate redox potential, photocatalytic units consisting of a binuclear charge-transfer chromophore coupled to a water oxidation catalyst shown here constitute a step towards thermodynamically efficient visible light water oxidation units

Controlled Assembly of Heterobinuclear Sites on Mesoporous Silica: Visible Light Charge-Transfer Units with Selectable Redox Properties

Mild synthetic methods are demonstrated for the selective assembly of oxo-bridged heterobinuclear units of the type TiOCrIII, TiOCoII, and TiOCeIII on mesoporous silica support MCM-41. One method takes advantage of the higher acidity and, hence, higher reactivity of titanol compared to silanol OH groups towards CeIII or CoII precursor. The procedure avoids the customary use of strong base. The controlled assembly of the TiOCr system exploits the selective redox reactivity of one metal towards another (TiIII precursor reacting with anchored CrVI centers). The observed selectivity for linking a metal precursor to an already anchored partner versus formation of isolated centers ranges from a factor of six (TiOCe) to complete (TiOCr, TiOCo). Evidence for oxo bridges and determination of the coordination environment of each metal centers is based on K-edge EXAFS (TiOCr), L-edge absorption spectroscopy (Ce), and XANES measurements (Co, Cr). EPR, optical, FT-Raman and FT-IR spectroscopy furnish additional details on oxidation state and coordination environment of donor and acceptor metal centers. In the case of TiOCr, the integrity of the anchored group upon calcination (350 oC) and cycling of the Cr oxidation state is demonstrated. The binuclear units possess metal-to-metal charge-transfer transitions that absorb deep in the visible region. The flexible synthetic method for assembling the units opens up the use of visible light charge transfer pumps featuring donor or acceptor metals with selectable redox potential

Direct Observation of the Kinetically Relevant Site of CO Hydrogenation on Supported Ru Catalyst at 700 K by Time-Resolved FT-IR Spectroscopy

Time-resolved FT-IR spectra of carbon monoxide hydrogenation over alumina-supported ruthenium particles were recorded on themillisecond time scale at 700 K using pulsed release of CO and a continuous flow of H2/N2 (ratio 0.067 or 0.15, 1 atm total pressure). Adsorbed carbon monoxide was detected along with gas phase products methane (3016 and 1306 cm-1), water (1900 +- 1300 cm-1), and carbon dioxide (2348 cm-1). Aside from adsorbed CO, no other surface species were observed. The rate of formation of methane is 2.5 +- 0.4 s-1 and coincides with the rate of carbon dioxide growth (3.4 +- 0.6 s-1), thus indicating that CH4 and CO2 originate from a common intermediate. The broad band of adsorbed carbon monoxide has a maximum at 2010 cm-1 at early times (36 ms) that shifts gradually to 1960 cm-1 over a period of 3 s as a result of the decreasing surface concentration of CO. Kinetic analysis of the adsorbed carbon monoxide reveals that surface sites absorbing at the high frequency end of the infrared band are temporally linked to gas phase product growth. Specifically, a (linear) CO site at 2026 cm-1 decays with a rate constant of 2.9 +- 0.1 s-1, which coincides with the rise constant of CH4. This demonstrates that the linear CO site at 2026 cm-1 is the kinetically most relevant one for the rate-determining CO dissociation step under reaction conditions at 700 K

Cyclohexene Photo-oxidation over Vanadia Catalyst Analyzed by Time Resolved ATR-FT-IR Spectroscopy

Vanadia was incorporated in the 3-dimensional mesoporous material TUD-1 with a loading of 2percent w/w vanadia. The performance in the selective photo-oxidation of liquid cyclohexene was investigated using ATR-FT-IR spectroscopy. Under continuous illumination at 458 nm a significant amount of product, i.e. cyclohexenone, was identified. This demonstrates for the first time that hydroxylated vanadia centers in mesoporous materials can be activated by visible light to induce oxidation reactions. Using the rapid scan method, a strong perturbation of the vanadyl environment could be observed in the selective oxidation process induced by a 458 nm laser pulse of 480 ms duration. This is proposed to be caused by interaction of the catalytic centre with a cyclohexenyl hydroperoxide intermediate. The restoration of the vanadyl environment could be kinetically correlated to the rate of formation of cyclohexenone, and is explained by molecular rearrangement and dissociation of the peroxide to ketone and water. The ketone diffuses away from the active center and ATR infrared probing zone, resulting in a decreasing ketone signal on the tens of seconds time scale after initiation of the photoreaction. This study demonstrates the high potential of time resolved ATR FT-IR spectroscopy for mechanistic studies of liquid phase reactions by monitoring not only intermediates and products, but by correlating the temporal behavior of these species to molecular changes of the vanadyl catalytic site

Visible Light-Induced Electron Transfer from Di-mu-oxo Bridged Dinuclear Mn Complexes to Cr Centers in Silica Nanopores

The compound (bpy)2MnIII(mu-O)2MnIV(bpy)2, a structural model relevant for the photosynthetic water oxidation complex, was coupled to single CrVI charge-transfer chromophores in the channels of the nanoporous oxide AlMCM-41. Mn K-edge EXAFS spectroscopy confirmed that the di-mu-oxo dinuclear Mn core of the complex is unaffected when loaded into the nanoscale pores. Observation of the 16-line EPR signal characteristic of MnIII(mu-O)2MnIV demonstrates that the majority of the loaded complexes retained their nascent oxidation state in the presence or absence of CrVI centers. The FT-Raman spectrum upon visible light excitation of the CrVI-OII --> CrV-OI ligand-to-metal charge-transfer reveals electron transfer from MnIII(mu-O)2MnIV (Mn-O stretch at 700 cm-1) to CrVI, resulting in the formation of CrV and MnIV(mu-O)2MnIV (Mn-O stretch at 645 cm-1). All initial and final states are directly observed by FT-Raman or EPR spectroscopy, and the assignments corroborated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements. The endoergic charge separation products (DELTA Eo = -0.6 V) remain after several minutes, which points to spatial separation of CrV and MnIV(mu-O)2MnIV as a consequence of hole (OI) hopping as a major contributing mechanism. This is the first observation of visible light-induced oxidation of a potential water oxidation complex by a metal charge-transfer pump in a nanoporous environment. These findings will allow for the assembly and photochemical characterization of well defined transition metal molecular units, with the ultimate goal of performing endothermic, multi-electron transformations that are coupled to visible light electron pumps in nanostructured scaffolds

Visible Light Absorption of Binuclear TiOCo II Charge-Transfer Unit Assembled in Mesoporous Silica

Abstract Grafting of C

Time-Resolved FT-IR Spectroscopy of CO Hydrogenation overSupported Ru Catalyst at 700K

Time-resolved FT-IR spectra of carbon monoxide hydrogenation over alumina-supported ruthenium were recorded on the millisecond timescale at 703 K using various H{sub 2} concentrations (1 atm total pressure). Adsorbed carbon monoxide was detected along with gas phase products methane (3016 and 1306 cm{sup -1}), water (sharp bands from 1900 - 1300 cm{sup -1}), and carbon dioxide (2348 cm{sup -1}). No other surface species were detected other than adsorbed carbon monoxide. The rate of formation of methane (2.5 {+-} 0.4 s{sup -1}) coincides with the rate of formation of carbon dioxide (3.4 {+-} 0.6 s{sup -1}), and bands due to water are observed to grow in over time. These results establish that methane and carbon dioxide originate from the same intermediate. The adsorbed carbon monoxide band is broad and unsymmetrical with a maximum at 2010 cm{sup -1} in spectra observed at 36 ms that shifts over 3000 ms to 1960 cm{sup -1} due to decreasing amounts of adsorbed carbon monoxide. Kinetic analysis of the adsorbed carbon monoxide band reveals that only a portion of the band can be temporally linked to gas phase products that we observe over the first 1000 ms of catalysis. This result suggests that we are observing dispersive kinetics, which is most likely due to heterogeneity of the surface environment

Dynamics of Propane in Silica Mesopores Formed upon PropyleneHydrogenation over Pt Nanoparticles by Time-Resolved FT-IRSpectroscopy

Propylene hydrogenation over Pt nanoparticles supported onmesoporous silica type SBA-15 was monitored by time-resolved FT-IRspectroscopy at 23 ms resolution using short propylene gas pulses thatjoined a continuous flow of hydrogen in N2 (1 atm total pressure).Experiments were conducted in the temperature range 323-413 K. Propanewas formed within 100 milliseconds or faster. The CH stretching regionrevealed distinct bands for propane molecules emerging inside thenanoscale channels of the silica support. Spectral analysis gave thedistribution of the propane product between support and surrounding gasphase as function of time. Kinetic analysis showed that the escape ofpropane molecules from the channels occurred within hundreds ofmilliseconds (3.1 + 0.4 s-1 at 383 K). A steady state distribution ofpropane between gas phase and mesoporous support is established as theproduct is swept from the catalyst zone by the continuous flow ofhydrogen co-reactant. This is the first direct spectroscopic observationof emerging products of heterogeneous catalysis on nanoporous supportsunder reaction conditions