Gianfranco Scorrano

Polyoxometalate Embedding of a Tetraruthenium(IV)-oxo-core by Template-Directed Metalation of (γ-SiW10O36) 8- : A Totally Inorganic Oxygen-Evolving Catalyst

Solid state and solution evidence confirms the embedding of an adamantane-like, Ru4O6 fragment by the divacant, gamma-decatungstosilicate ligand. The resulting complex catalyzes water oxidation to oxygen with TON up to 500 and TOF > 450 h-1.

Efficient water oxidation at carbon nanotube–polyoxometalate electrocatalytic interfaces

Water is the renewable, bulk chemical that nature uses to enable carbohydrate production from carbon dioxide. The dream goal of energy research is to transpose this incredibly efficient process and make an artificial device whereby the catalytic splitting of water is finalized to give a continuous production of oxygen and hydrogen. Success in this task would guarantee the generation of hydrogen as a carbon-free fuel to satisfy our energy demands at no environmental cost. Here we show that very efficient and stable nanostructured, oxygen-evolving anodes are obtained by the assembly of an oxygen-evolving polyoxometalate cluster (a totally inorganic ruthenium catalyst) with a conducting bed of multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Our bioinspired electrode addresses the one major challenge of artificial photosynthesis, namely efficient water oxidation, which brings us closer to being able to power the planet with carbon-free fuels.

Synthesis and electrochemical properties of substituted fulleropyrrolidines.

Abstract A systematic investigation of the synthesis and electrochemical behavior of a series of fullerene derivatives containing an additional electroactive group, such as ferrocene and tetrathiafulvalene, is reported. The influence of the structure on the cyclic voltammetry is discussed.

Water Oxidation at a Tetraruthenate Core Stabilized by Polyoxometalate Ligands: Experimental and Computational Evidence To Trace the Competent Intermediates

Converging UV-vis, EPR, rRaman, and DFT calculations highlight the evolution of [Ru(4)(H(2)O)(4)(mu-O)(4)(mu-OH)(2)(gamma-SiW(10)O(36))(2)](10-), 1, to high-valent intermediates. In analogy with the natural enzyme, five different oxidation states, generated from 1, have been found to power the catalytic cycle for water oxidation. A high electrophilic tetraruthenium(V)-hydroxo species is envisaged as the competent intermediate, undergoing nucleophilic attack by an external water molecule as a key step in the formation of a new O-O bond under catalytic conditions.

Ruthenium polyoxometalate water splitting catalyst: very fast hole scavenging from photogenerated oxidants

The tetraruthenium polyoxometalate water oxidation catalyst 1 performs very fast hole scavenging from photogenerated Ru(iii) polypyridine complexes, both in homogeneous solution and at a sensitized nanocrystalline TiO(2) surface.

Acid-catalysed addition of N-aryl imines to dihydrofuran. Postulated dependence of the reaction mechanism on the relative face of approach of reactants

Imines 1a and 1b react with dihydrofuran (DHF) under Lewis acid catalysis via Diels–Alder-type addition to form the tetrahydroquinoline derivatives 3a, b and 4a, b. Besides these compounds, the methanol adduct 2 of 1a, or 1a in the presence of methanol, gives the methanol-containing tetrahydrofuran derivative 7a and the hexahydrofuro[3,2-b]furan derivatives 5 and 6. In the presence of methanol, 1b gives 3b and 4b, and also 7b and 8. The products 3a, b, 5, 6 and 7a, b originate from approach of the Si(or Re) face of 1a, b onto the Si(or Re) face of DHF; 4a, b and 8 derive from interaction of the Si(or Re) face of 1a, b with the Re(or Si) face of DHF. The dependence of the product distribution on the polarity of the solvent suggests that a concerted mechanism predominates in the former mode and a zwitterionic one in the latter. In the addition of 1a or 2 the mechanistic preference may be exclusive.

Synthesis of N-acylated fulleropyrrolidines: New materials for the preparation of Langmuir-Blodgett films containing fullerenes

The synthesis of a series of new C60 derivatives of interest for their potential in the study of LB properties of fullerenes is reported. Besides that of compounds 4b and 4c, featuring fatty acid chains, the preparation of the well-characterized, perfluorinated fulleropyrrolidine 4d is described. A preliminary investigation of LB behavior of the N-acetyl compound 4a gives very promising results.

Peroxo-Zr/Hf-Containing Undecatungstosilicates and -Germanates

A family of dimeric, peroxo-containing heteropolytungstates, [M(2)(O(2))(2)(XW(11)O(39))(2)](12-) [M = Zr(4+), X = Si (1), Ge (2); M = Hf(4+), X = Si (3)], have been synthesized by reacting ZrCl(4)/HfCl(4) with the respective monolacunary Keggin precursor [XW(11)O(39)](8-) (X = Si, Ge) in an aqueous acidic medium (pH 4.8). The isostructural polyanions 1-3 are composed of two (XW(11)O(39)) Keggin units encapsulating a central diperoxo-dimetal fragment {M(2)(O(2))(2)}(4+) (M = Zr(4+), Hf(4+)). Cyclic voltammetry and exhaustive electrolysis studies indicate fast reductive release of the peroxo ligands upon reduction of 1-3. Stoichiometric oxo-transfer studies from 1-3 to the substrate l-methionine were performed, and the reactions were monitored by (1)H NMR.

Reactive ZrIV and HfIV Butterfly Peroxides on Polyoxometalate Surfaces: Bridging the Gap between Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Catalysis

At variance with previously known coordination compounds, the polyoxometalate (POM)-embedded Zr(IV) and Hf(IV) peroxides with formula: [M(2)(O(2))(2)(α-XW(11)O(39))(2)](12-) (M=Zr(IV), X=Si (1), Ge (2); M=Hf(IV), X=Si (3)) and [M(6)(O(2))(6)(OH)(6)(γ-SiW(10)O(36))(3)](18-) (M=Zr(IV) (4) or Hf(IV) (5)) are capable of oxygen transfer to suitable acceptors including sulfides and sulfoxides in water. Combined (1)H NMR and electrochemical studies allow monitoring of the reaction under both stoichiometric and catalytic conditions. The reactivity of peroxo-POMs 1-5 is compared on the basis of substrate conversion and kinetic. The results show that the reactivity of POMs 1-3 outperforms that of the trimeric derivatives 4 and 5 by two orders of magnitude. Reversible peroxidation of 1-3 occurs by H(2)O(2) addition to the spent catalysts, restoring oxidation rates and performance of the pristine system. The stability of 1-3 under catalytic regime has been confirmed by FT-IR, UV/Vis, and resonance Raman spectroscopy. The reaction scope has been extended to alcohols, leading to the corresponding carbonyl compounds with yields up to 99% under microwave (MW) irradiation. DFT calculations revealed that polyanions 1-3 have high-energy peroxo HOMOs, and a remarkable electron density localized on the peroxo sites as indicated by the calculated map of the electrostatic potential (MEP). This evidence suggests that the overall description of the oxygen-transfer mechanism should include possible protonation equilibria in water, favored for peroxo-POMs 1-3.

Photoinduced Electron Transfer in a Tris(2,2′-bipyridine)-C60-ruthenium(II) Dyad: Evidence of Charge Recombination to a Fullerene Excited State

A novel fulleropyrrolidine covalently linked to a tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) complex is presented (see picture). While electrochemical investigations suggest the absence of any ground-state interaction between ruthenium and fullerene chromophores, photoinduced optical absorption studies clearly show that electron transfer occurs to afford the Ru3+−C60 pair with characteristic fullerene radical anion band at λmax = 1040 nm.