Molecular catalysis that transpires only when the complex is heterogenized: Studies of a hydrogenase complex surface-tethered on polycrystalline and (1 1 1)-faceted gold by EC, PM-FT-IRRAS, HREELS, XPS and STM

The proton-reduction catalytic activity of two di-iron hydrogenase complexes, [(μ-S_(2)C_(3)H_6)[Fe(CO)_3][Fe(CO)_(2)(PPh_3)] (1) and (μ-S_(2)C_(3)H_6)[Fe(CO)_3][Fe(CO)2(PPh2{(CH2)2SH})] (2), was investigated at polycrystalline and (1 1 1)-faceted Au electrodes in nonaqueous electrolyte. Compound (2) was irreversibly tethered to the surface through the single bondSH group; (1) was present only in the unadsorbed (dissolved) state. No enhancement of the proton reduction reaction was observed with the homogeneous complex. Pronounced catalysis was exhibited by the heterogenized (surface-attached) material. Neither increase nor decrease in activity was observed when unadsorbed complex (2) was added to the solution of the heterogenized catalyst. The conclusion from these observations, that no catalysis transpires unless the subject molecular complex is tethered to the electrode surface, is totally unexpected; it runs counter to conventional wisdom that an untethered homogeneous electrocatalyst, especially one that requires a particular entatic (partially rotated) configuration to complete its function, would invariably perform better than its surface-immobilized counterpart. The heterogenized complex, present at rather low coverages due to its sizable adsorbed-molecule cross section, was further investigated by polarization-modulation Fourier transform infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-FT-IRRAS), high-resolution electron-energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The electrochemistry (EC) and STM results indicated that the catalytic activity of the immobilized complex is a function of its surface coverage but not of its spatial configuration; the catalytic sites are accessible regardless of the particular arrangement of the pendant active site with respect to the surface. The surface-immobilized complex suffered a non-negligible loss in catalytic activity after the ex situ experiments, perhaps due to (partial) decarbonylation

Electrocatalysis of the hydrogen-evolution reaction by electrodeposited amorphous cobalt selenide films

Using an electrochemical method under ambient conditions, crystallographically amorphous films of cobalt selenide have been deposited from aqueous solution onto planar Ti supports. These films have been evaluated as electrocatalysts for the hydrogen-evolution reaction. In 0.500 M H_2SO_4, the cobalt selenide films required an overpotential of ~135 mV to drive the hydrogen-evolution reaction at a benchmark current density of −10 mA cm^(−2). Galvanostatic measurements indicated stability of the electrocatalytic films for >16 h of continuous operation at −10 mA cm^(−2). The facile preparation method, and the activity of the cobalt selenide films, suggest that electrodeposited metal chalcogenides are potentially attractive earth-abundant electrocatalysts for the hydrogen-evolution reaction

CoP as an Acid-Stable Active Electrocatalyst for the Hydrogen-Evolution Reaction: Electrochemical Synthesis, Interfacial Characterization and Performance Evaluation

Films of CoP have been electrochemically synthesized, characterized, and evaluated for performance as a catalyst for the hydrogen-evolution reaction (HER). The film was synthesized by cathodic deposition from a boric acid solution of Co^(2+) and H_2PO_2^– on copper substrates followed by operando remediation of exogenous contaminants. The films were characterized structurally and compositionally by scanning-electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectrophotometry. The catalytic activity was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometry. Surface characterization prior to electrocatalysis indicated that the film consisted of micrometer-sized spherical clusters located randomly and loosely on a slightly roughened surface. The composition of both the clusters and surface consisted of cobalt in the metallic, phosphide, and amorphous-oxide forms (CoO·Co_2O_3) and of phosphorus as phosphide and orthophosphate. The orthophosphate species, produced by air-oxidation, were eliminated upon HER electrocatalysis in sulfuric acid. The operando film purification yielded a functional electrocatalyst with a Co:P stoichiometric ratio of 1:1. After the HER, the surface was densely packed with micrometer-sized, mesa-like particles whose tops were flat and smooth. The CoP eletrodeposit exhibited an 85 mV overvoltage (η) for the HER at a current density of 10 mA cm^(–2) and was stable under operation in highly acidic solution, with an increase in η of 18 mV after 24 h of continuous operation. The comparative HER catalytic performance of CoP, film or nanoparticles, is as follows: η_(Pt) < η_(CoP film) = η_(CoP NP), η_(Ni_2P) < η_(CoSe)_2 < η_(MoS)_2 < η_(MoSe)_2

Operando Synthesis of Macroporous Molybdenum Diselenide Films for Electrocatalysis of the Hydrogen-Evolution Reaction

The catalytically inactive components of a film have been converted, through an operando method of synthesis, to produce a catalyst for the reaction that the film is catalyzing. Specifically, thin films of molybdenum diselenide have been synthesized using a two-step wet-chemical method, in which excess sodium selenide was first added to a solution of ammonium heptamolydbate in aqueous sulfuric acid, resulting in the spontaneous formation of a black precipitate that contained molybdenum triselenide (MoSe_3), molybdenum trioxide (MoO_3), and elemental selenium. After purification and after the film had been drop cast onto a glassy carbon electrode, a reductive potential was applied to the precipitate-coated electrode. Hydrogen evolution occurred within the range of potentials applied to the electrode, but during the initial voltammetric cycle, an overpotential of ~400 mV was required to drive the hydrogen-evolution reaction at a benchmark current density of −10 mA cm^(–2). The overpotential required to evolve hydrogen at the benchmark rate progressively decreased with subsequent voltammetry cycles, until a steady state was reached at which only ~250 mV of overpotential was required to pass −10 mA cm^(–2) of current density. During the electrocatalysis, the catalytically inactive components in the as-prepared film were (reductively) converted to MoSe_2 through an operando method of synthesis of the hydrogen-evolution catalyst. The initial film prepared from the precipitate was smooth, but the converted film was completely covered with pores ~200 nm in diameter. The porous MoSe_2 film was stable while being assessed by cyclic voltammetry for 48 h, and the overpotential required to sustain 10 mA cm^(–2) of hydrogen evolution increased by <50 mV over this period of operation

Interface engineering of the photoelectrochemical performance of Ni-oxide-coated n-Si photoanodes by atomic-layer deposition of ultrathin films of cobalt oxide

Introduction of an ultrathin (2 nm) film of cobalt oxide (CoO_x) onto n-Si photoanodes prior to sputter-deposition of a thick multifunctional NiO_x coating yields stable photoelectrodes with photocurrent-onset potentials of ~−240 mV relative to the equilibrium potential for O2(g) evolution and current densities of ~28 mA cm^(−2) at the equilibrium potential for water oxidation when in contact with 1.0 M KOH(aq) under 1 sun of simulated solar illumination. The photoelectrochemical performance of these electrodes was very close to the Shockley diode limit for moderately doped n-Si(100) photoelectrodes, and was comparable to that of typical protected Si photoanodes that contained np+ buried homojunctions

Stable solar-driven oxidation of water by semiconducting photoanodes protected by transparent catalytic nickel oxide films

Reactively sputtered nickel oxide (NiO_x) films provide transparent, antireflective, electrically conductive, chemically stable coatings that also are highly active electrocatalysts for the oxidation of water to O_2(g). These NiO_x coatings provide protective layers on a variety of technologically important semiconducting photoanodes, including textured crystalline Si passivated by amorphous silicon, crystalline n-type cadmium telluride, and hydrogenated amorphous silicon. Under anodic operation in 1.0 M aqueous potassium hydroxide (pH 14) in the presence of simulated sunlight, the NiO_x films stabilized all of these self-passivating, high-efficiency semiconducting photoelectrodes for >100 h of sustained, quantitative solar-driven oxidation of water to O_2(g)

A comparison of the chemical, optical and electrocatalytic properties of water-oxidation catalysts for use in integrated solar-fuel generators

The in situ optical properties and electrocatalytic performance of representative catalysts for the oxygen-evolution reaction (OER) have been considered together to evaluate system-level effects that accompany the integration of OER catalysts into a solar-fuel device driven by a tandem-junction light absorber with a photoanode top cell, i.e., a design that requires incident light to be transmitted through the OER catalyst before reaching a semiconducting light absorber. The relationship between the overpotential and optical transmission of the catalysts determined the attainable efficiencies for integrated solar-fuel devices as well as the optimal band gaps for the photoanode in such devices. The systems investigated generally showed: (1) the OER catalysts dissolved in acid, and were less stable in buffered near-neutral pH electrolytes than in strongly alkaline electrolytes; (2) higher overpotentials were required to drive the OER at a specified current density when the catalysts were operated in contact with near-neutral pH electrolytes than strong alkaline electrolytes; (3) for some of the OER catalysts, the electrocatalytic activity and in situ absorption spectra depended strongly on the preparation method; (4) increasing the loading of the electrocatalyst reduced the overpotential and the optical transmission; (5) for the catalysts studied, the optical transmission and overpotential were generally correlated, and the trend lines did not cross, indicating that based on these factors alone, the optimal approach is to use lower loadings of highly active catalysts, rather than to use a less active but more transparent catalysts; (6) for a solar-fuel device driven by semiconductors operating at the Shockley–Queisser limit and using a continuous film of a given OER catalyst in the path of incident light, the efficiency decrease due to the reduced optical transmittance that accompanies increased OER catalyst loading can be substantially greater than any efficiency increase that might be gained through the reduction in catalytic overpotential by increasing the catalyst loading; and (7) HER catalysts possessed the same performance trade-off when the light is incident through the HER catalysts as is observed for OER catalysts when the light is incident from the OER side

Reduction of aqueous CO_2 to 1-Propanol at MoS_2 electrodes

Reduction of carbon dioxide in aqueous electrolytes at single-crystal MoS_2 or thin-film MoS_2 electrodes yields 1-propanol as the major CO_2 reduction product, along with hydrogen from water reduction as the predominant reduction process. Lower levels of formate, ethylene glycol, and t-butanol were also produced. At an applied potential of −0.59 V versus a reversible hydrogen electrode, the Faradaic efficiencies for reduction of CO_2 to 1-propanol were ∼3.5% for MoS2single crystals and ∼1% for thin films with low edge-site densities. Reduction of CO_2 to 1-propanol is a kinetically challenging reaction that requires the overall transfer of 18 e– and 18 H+ in a process that involves the formation of 2 C–C bonds. NMR analyses using ^(13)CO_2 showed the production of ^(13)C-labeled 1-propanol. In all cases, the vast majority of the Faradaic current resulted in hydrogen evolution via water reduction. H_2S was detected qualitatively when single-crystal MoS_2 electrodes were used, indicating that some desulfidization of single crystals occurred under these conditions