Bryan M. Hunter

Highly active mixed-metal nanosheet water oxidation catalysts made by pulsed-laser ablation in liquids.

Surfactant-free mixed-metal hydroxide water oxidation nanocatalysts were synthesized by pulsed-laser ablation in liquids. In a series of [Ni-Fe]-layered double hydroxides with intercalated nitrate and water, [Ni1-xFex(OH)2](NO3)y(OH)x-y·nH2O, higher activity was observed as the amount of Fe decreased to 22%. Addition of Ti(4+) and La(3+) ions further enhanced electrocatalysis, with a lowest overpotential of 260 mV at 10 mA cm(-2). Electrocatalytic water oxidation activity increased with the relative proportion of a 405.1 eV N 1s (XPS binding energy) species in the nanosheets.

Effect of interlayer anions on [NiFe]-LDH nanosheet water oxidation activity

We synthesized nickel–iron layered double hydroxide ([NiFe]-LDH) nanosheets with different interlayer anions to probe their role in water oxidation catalysis. In alkaline electrolyte in ambient air, carbonate rapidly replaced other interlayer anions and catalytic activity was highest. Electrocatalytic water oxidation in virtually carbonate-free alkaline electrolyte revealed that activity was a function of anion basicity. Our [NiFe]-LDH nanosheets, prepared by pulsed laser ablation in liquids, were regenerated in carbonate-containing aqueous KOH. Anion binding motifs were assessed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in combination with density functional theory calculations, suggesting that nitrite species bound to edge-site Fe in the precatalyst correlated with higher water oxidation activity.

Visible-Light-Induced Olefin Activation Using 3D Aromatic Boron-Rich Cluster Photooxidants

We report a discovery that perfunctionalized icosahedral dodecaborate clusters of the type B12(OCH2Ar)12 (Ar = Ph or C6F5) can undergo photo-excitation with visible light, leading to a new class of metal-free photooxidants. Excitation in these species occurs as a result of the charge transfer between low-lying orbitals located on the benzyl substituents and an unoccupied orbital delocalized throughout the boron cluster core. Here we show how these species, photo-excited with a benchtop blue LED source, can exhibit excited-state reduction potentials as high as 3 V and can participate in electron-transfer processes with a broad range of styrene monomers, initiating their polymerization. Initiation is observed in cases of both electron-rich and electron-deficient styrene monomers at cluster loadings as low as 0.005 mol%. Furthermore, photo-excitation of B12(OCH2C6F5)12 in the presence of a less activated olefin such as isobutylene results in the production of highly branched poly(isobutylene). This work introduces a new class of air-stable, metal-free photo-redox reagents capable of mediating chemical transformations.

Factors affecting bismuth vanadate photoelectrochemical performance

Bismuth vanadate is a promising photoanode material, but recent reports on undoped BiVO4 without sublayers and co-catalysts showed large variations in photocurrent generation. We addressed this issue by correlating photoelectrochemical performance with physical properties. We devised a novel anodic electrodeposition procedure with iodide added to the aqueous plating bath, which allowed us to prepare BiVO4 photoanodes with virtually identical thicknesses but different morphologies, and we could control surface Bi content. Morphologies were quantified from SEM images as distributions of crystallite areas and aspect-ratio-normalised diameters, and their statistical moments were derived. We could obtain clear photocurrent generation trends only from bivariate data analysis. Our experimental evidence suggests that a combination of low Bi/V ratio, small aspect-ratio-normalised diameters, and crystallites sizes that were small enough to provide efficient charge separation yet sufficiently large to prevent mass transport limitations led to highest photoelectrochemical performance.

M−M Bond-Stretching Energy Landscapes for M 2 (dimen) 4 2+ (M = Rh, Ir; dimen = 1,8-Diisocyanomenthane) Complexes

Isomers of Ir(2)(dimen)(4)(2+) (dimen = 1,8-diisocyanomenthane) exhibit different Ir-Ir bond distances in a 2:1 MTHF/EtCN solution (MTHF = 2-methyltetrahydrofuran). Variable-temperature absorption data suggest that the isomer with the shorter Ir-Ir distance is favored at room temperature [K = ∼8; ΔH° = -0.8 kcal/mol; ΔS° = 1.44 cal mol(-1) K(-1)]. We report calculations that shed light on M(2)(dimen)(4)(2+) (M = Rh, Ir) structural differences: (1) metal-metal interaction favors short distances; (2) ligand deformational-strain energy favors long distances; (3) out-of-plane (A(2u)) distortion promotes twisting of the ligand backbone at short metal-metal separations. Calculated potential-energy surfaces reveal a double minimum for Ir(2)(dimen)(4)(2+) (∼4.1 Å Ir-Ir with 0° twist angle and ∼3.6 Å Ir-Ir with ±12° twist angle) but not for the rhodium analogue (∼4.5 Å Rh-Rh with no twisting). Because both the ligand strain and A(2u) distortional energy are virtually identical for the two complexes, the strength of the metal-metal interaction is the determining factor. On the basis of the magnitude of this interaction, we obtain the following results: (1) a single-minimum (along the Ir-Ir coordinate), harmonic potential-energy surface for the triplet electronic excited state of Ir(2)(dimen)(4)(2+) (R(e,Ir-Ir) = 2.87 Å; F(Ir-Ir) = 0.99 mdyn Å(-1)); (2) a single-minimum, anharmonic surface for the ground state of Rh(2)(dimen)(4)(2+) (R(e,Rh-Rh) = 3.23 Å; F(Rh-Rh) = 0.09 mdyn Å(-1)); (3) a double-minimum (along the Ir-Ir coordinate) surface for the ground state of Ir(2)(dimen)(4)(2+) (R(e,Ir-Ir) = 3.23 Å; F(Ir-Ir) = 0.16 mdyn Å(-1)).

Electronic Structures of Reduced and Superreduced Ir2(1,8-diisocyanomenthane)4n+ Complexes

Molecular and electronic structures of Ir2(1,8-diisocyanomenthane)4n+ (Ir(dimen)n+) complexes have been investigated by DFT for n = 2, 1, 0 (abbreviated 2+, 1+, 0). Calculations reproduced the experimental structure of 2+, ν(C≡N) IR, and visible absorption spectra of all three oxidation states, as well as the EPR spectrum of 1+. We have shown that the two reduction steps correspond to successive filling of the Ir-Ir pσ orbital. Complexes 2+ and 1+ have very similar structures with 1+ having a shorter Ir-Ir distance. The unpaired electron density in 1+ is delocalized along the Ir-Ir axis and over N atoms of the eight C≡N- ligands. The second reduction step 1+ → 0 changes the Ir(CN-)4 coordination geometry at each Ir site from approximately planar to seesaw whereby one -N≡C-Ir-C≡N- moiety is linear and the other bent at the Ir (137°) as well as N (146°) atoms. Although complex 0 is another example of a rare (pσ)2 dimetallic species (after [Pt2(μ-P2O5(BF2)2)4]6-, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 5699), the redistribution of lower lying occupied molecular orbitals increases electron density predominantly at the bent C≡N- ligands whose N atoms are predicted to be nucleophilic reaction centers.

Reduced and Superreduced Diplatinum Complexes.

A d(8)-d(8) complex [Pt2(μ-P2O5(BF2)4](4-) (abbreviated Pt(pop-BF2)(4-)) undergoes two 1e(-) reductions at E1/2 = -1.68 and Ep = -2.46 V (vs Fc(+)/Fc) producing reduced Pt(pop-BF2)(5-) and superreduced Pt(pop-BF2)(6-) species, respectively. The EPR spectrum of Pt(pop-BF2)(5-) and UV-vis spectra of both the reduced and the superreduced complexes, together with TD-DFT calculations, reveal successive filling of the 6pσ orbital accompanied by gradual strengthening of Pt-Pt bonding interactions and, because of 6pσ delocalization, of Pt-P bonds in the course of the two reductions. Mayer-Millikan Pt-Pt bond orders of 0.173, 0.268, and 0.340 were calculated for the parent, reduced, and superreduced complexes, respectively. The second (5-/6-) reduction is accompanied by a structural distortion that is experimentally manifested by electrochemical irreversibility. Both reduction steps proceed without changing either d(8) Pt electronic configuration, making the superreduced Pt(pop-BF2)(6-) a very rare 6p(2) σ-bonded binuclear complex. However, the Pt-Pt σ bonding interaction is limited by the relatively long bridging-ligand-imposed Pt-Pt distance accompanied by repulsive electronic congestion. Pt(pop-BF2)(4-) is predicted to be a very strong photooxidant (potentials of +1.57 and +0.86 V are estimated for the singlet and triplet dσ*pσ excited states, respectively).

Iron Is the Active Site in Nickel/Iron Water Oxidation Electrocatalysts

Efficient catalysis of the oxygen-evolution half-reaction (OER) is a pivotal requirement for the development of practical solar-driven water splitting devices. Heterogeneous OER electrocatalysts containing first-row transition metal oxides and hydroxides have attracted considerable recent interest, owing in part to the high abundance and low cost of starting materials. Among the best performing OER electrocatalysts are mixed Fe/Ni layered double hydroxides (LDH). A review of the available experimental data leads to the conclusion that iron is the active site for [NiFe]-LDH-catalyzed alkaline water oxidation.

Ultrafast Wiggling and Jiggling: Ir2(1,8-diisocyanomenthane)42+

Binuclear complexes of d8 metals (PtII, IrI, RhI,) exhibit diverse photonic behavior, including dual emission from relatively long-lived singlet and triplet excited states, as well as photochemical energy, electron, and atom transfer. Time-resolved optical spectroscopic and X-ray studies have revealed the behavior of the dimetallic core, confirming that M-M bonding is strengthened upon dσ* → pσ excitation. We report the bridging ligand dynamics of Ir2(1,8-diisocyanomenthane)42+ (Ir(dimen)), investigated by fs-ns time-resolved IR spectroscopy (TRIR) in the region of C≡N stretching vibrations, ν(C≡N), 2000-2300 cm-1. The ν(C≡N) IR band of the singlet and triplet dσ*pσ excited states is shifted by -22 and -16 cm-1 relative to the ground state due to delocalization of the pσ LUMO over the bridging ligands. Ultrafast relaxation dynamics of the 1dσ*pσ state depend on the initially excited Franck-Condon molecular geometry, whereby the same relaxed singlet excited state is populated by two different pathways depending on the starting point at the excited-state potential energy surface. Exciting the long/eclipsed isomer triggers two-stage structural relaxation: 0.5 ps large-scale Ir-Ir contraction and 5 ps Ir-Ir contraction/intramolecular rotation. Exciting the short/twisted isomer induces a ∼5 ps bond shortening combined with vibrational cooling. Intersystem crossing (70 ps) follows, populating a 3dσ*pσ state that lives for hundreds of nanoseconds. During the first 2 ps, the ν(C≡N) IR bandwidth oscillates with the frequency of the ν(Ir-Ir) wave packet, ca. 80 cm-1, indicating that the dephasing time of the high-frequency (16 fs)-1 C≡N stretch responds to much slower (∼400 fs)-1 Ir-Ir coherent oscillations. We conclude that the bonding and dynamics of bridging di-isocyanide ligands are coupled to the dynamics of the metal-metal unit and that the coherent Ir-Ir motion induced by ultrafast excitation drives vibrational dephasing processes over the entire binuclear cation.