Bioinspired design of redox-active ligands for multielectron catalysis: effects of positioning pyrazine reservoirs on cobalt for electro- and photocatalytic generation of hydrogen from water.

Mononuclear metalloenzymes in nature can function in cooperation with precisely positioned redox-active organic cofactors in order to carry out multielectron catalysis. Inspired by the finely tuned redox management of these bioinorganic systems, we present the design, synthesis, and experimental and theoretical characterization of a homologous series of cobalt complexes bearing redox-active pyrazines. These donor moieties are locked into key positions within a pentadentate ligand scaffold in order to evaluate the effects of positioning redox non-innocent ligands on hydrogen evolution catalysis. Both metal- and ligand-centered redox features are observed in organic as well as aqueous solutions over a range of pH values, and comparison with analogs bearing redox-inactive zinc(ii) allows for assignments of ligand-based redox events. Varying the geometric placement of redox non-innocent pyrazine donors on isostructural pentadentate ligand platforms results in marked effects on observed cobalt-catalyzed proton reduction activity. Electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution from weak acids in acetonitrile solution, under diffusion-limited conditions, reveals that the pyrazine donor of axial isomer 1-Co behaves as an unproductive electron sink, resulting in high overpotentials for proton reduction, whereas the equatorial pyrazine isomer complex 2-Co is significantly more active for hydrogen generation at lower voltages. Addition of a second equatorial pyrazine in complex 3-Co further minimizes overpotentials required for catalysis. The equatorial derivative 2-Co is also superior to its axial 1-Co congener for electrocatalytic and visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen generation in biologically relevant, neutral pH aqueous media. Density functional theory calculations (B3LYP-D2) indicate that the first reduction of catalyst isomers 1-Co, 2-Co, and 3-Co is largely metal-centered while the second reduction occurs at pyrazine. Taken together, the data establish that proper positioning of non-innocent pyrazine ligands on a single cobalt center is indeed critical for promoting efficient hydrogen catalysis in aqueous media, akin to optimally positioned redox-active cofactors in metalloenzymes. In a broader sense, these findings highlight the significance of electronic structure considerations in the design of effective electron-hole reservoirs for multielectron transformations

Bioinspired design of redox-active ligands for multielectron catalysis: effects of positioning pyrazine reservoirs on cobalt for electro- and photocatalytic generation of hydrogen from water.

Mononuclear metalloenzymes in nature can function in cooperation with precisely positioned redox-active organic cofactors in order to carry out multielectron catalysis. Inspired by the finely tuned redox management of these bioinorganic systems, we present the design, synthesis, and experimental and theoretical characterization of a homologous series of cobalt complexes bearing redox-active pyrazines. These donor moieties are locked into key positions within a pentadentate ligand scaffold in order to evaluate the effects of positioning redox non-innocent ligands on hydrogen evolution catalysis. Both metal- and ligand-centered redox features are observed in organic as well as aqueous solutions over a range of pH values, and comparison with analogs bearing redox-inactive zinc(ii) allows for assignments of ligand-based redox events. Varying the geometric placement of redox non-innocent pyrazine donors on isostructural pentadentate ligand platforms results in marked effects on observed cobalt-catalyzed proton reduction activity. Electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution from weak acids in acetonitrile solution, under diffusion-limited conditions, reveals that the pyrazine donor of axial isomer 1-Co behaves as an unproductive electron sink, resulting in high overpotentials for proton reduction, whereas the equatorial pyrazine isomer complex 2-Co is significantly more active for hydrogen generation at lower voltages. Addition of a second equatorial pyrazine in complex 3-Co further minimizes overpotentials required for catalysis. The equatorial derivative 2-Co is also superior to its axial 1-Co congener for electrocatalytic and visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen generation in biologically relevant, neutral pH aqueous media. Density functional theory calculations (B3LYP-D2) indicate that the first reduction of catalyst isomers 1-Co, 2-Co, and 3-Co is largely metal-centered while the second reduction occurs at pyrazine. Taken together, the data establish that proper positioning of non-innocent pyrazine ligands on a single cobalt center is indeed critical for promoting efficient hydrogen catalysis in aqueous media, akin to optimally positioned redox-active cofactors in metalloenzymes. In a broader sense, these findings highlight the significance of electronic structure considerations in the design of effective electron-hole reservoirs for multielectron transformations

Metal–Polypyridyl Catalysts for Electro- and Photochemical Reduction of Water to Hydrogen

Climate change, rising global energy demand, and energy security concerns motivate research into alternative, sustainable energy sources. In principle, solar energy can meet the world's energy needs, but the intermittent nature of solar illumination means that it is temporally and spatially separated from its consumption. Developing systems that promote solar-to-fuel conversion, such as via reduction of protons to hydrogen, could bridge this production-consumption gap, but this effort requires invention of catalysts that are cheap, robust, and efficient and that use earth-abundant elements. In this context, catalysts that utilize water as both an earth-abundant, environmentally benign substrate and a solvent for proton reduction are highly desirable. This Account summarizes our studies of molecular metal-polypyridyl catalysts for electrochemical and photochemical reduction of protons to hydrogen. Inspired by concept transfer from biological and materials catalysts, these scaffolds are remarkably resistant to decomposition in water, with fast and selective electrocatalytic and photocatalytic conversions that are sustainable for several days. Their modular nature offers a broad range of opportunities for tuning reactivity by molecular design, including altering ancillary ligand electronics, denticity, and/or incorporating redox-active elements. Our first-generation complex, [(PY4)Co(CH3CN)2](2+), catalyzes the reduction of protons from a strong organic acid to hydrogen in 50% water. Subsequent investigations with the pentapyridyl ligand PY5Me2 furnished molybdenum and cobalt complexes capable of catalyzing the reduction of water in fully aqueous electrolyte with 100% Faradaic efficiency. Of particular note, the complex [(PY5Me2)MoO](2+) possesses extremely high activity and durability in neutral water, with turnover frequencies at least 8500 mol of H2 per mole of catalyst per hour and turnover numbers over 600 000 mol of H2 per mole of catalyst over 3 days at an overpotential of 1.0 V, without apparent loss in activity. Replacing the oxo moiety with a disulfide affords [(PY5Me2)MoS2](2+), which bears a molecular MoS2 triangle that structurally and functionally mimics bulk molybdenum disulfide, improving the catalytic activity for water reduction. In water buffered to pH 3, catalysis by [(PY5Me2)MoS2](2+) onsets at 400 mV of overpotential, whereas [(PY5Me2)MoO](2+) requires an additional 300 mV of driving force to operate at the same current density. Metalation of the PY5Me2 ligand with an appropriate Co(ii) source also furnishes electrocatalysts that are active in water. Importantly, the onset of catalysis by the [(PY5Me2)Co(H2O)](2+) series is anodically shifted by introducing electron-withdrawing functional groups on the ligand. With the [(bpy2PYMe)Co(CF3SO3)](1+) system, we showed that introducing a redox-active moiety can facilitate the electro- and photochemical reduction of protons from weak acids such as acetic acid or water. Using a high-throughput photochemical reactor, we examined the structure-reactivity relationship of a series of cobalt(ii) complexes. Taken together, these findings set the stage for the broader application of polypyridyl systems to catalysis under environmentally benign aqueous conditions

Triplet–Triplet Annihilation-Induced Up-Converted Delayed Luminescence in Solid-State Organic Composites: Monitoring Low-Energy Photon Up-Conversion at Low Temperatures

Hitherto, the role of the enhanced intermolecular interactions and the effect of lowering the temperature on the process of triplet-triplet annihilation-induced up-converted delayed luminescence in solid-state composites systems have remained controversial. Here we address these issues by performing temperature-dependent time-integrated and time-gated luminescence spectroscopic studies on the model photon up-converting solid composite comprising the (2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-porphyrinato) PtII (PtOEP) sensitizer, mixed with the blue-light emitting 9,10 diphenyl anthracene (DPA) activator. Atomic force microscopy imaging and photoluminescence (PL) spectra confirm that the strength of intermolecular interactions in the DPA:PtOEP system can be tuned by keeping the composite either in its binary or in its ternary form with the use of the optically inert matrix of polystyrene (PS). By diluting DPA:PtOEP in PS, the concentration of the DPA excimeric and the PtOEP triplet dimer quenching sites is reduced and the lifetime of the DPA up-converted PL signal is prolonged to the microsecond time scale. By lowering the temperature to 100 K, the DPA up-converted luminescence intensity increases by a factor of 3, and this is attributed to the increased energetic disorder of the DPA excited states in the PS:DPA:PtOEP ternary system. These findings provide useful guidelines for the fabrication of efficient solid-state photon up-converting organic layers. © 2014 American Chemical Society