Kushal Sengupta

Cobalt Corrole Catalyst for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction from H2O under Ambient Conditions: Reactivity, Spectroscopy, and Density Functional Theory Calculations

The feasibility of a hydrogen-based economy relies very much on the availability of catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) that are not based on Pt or other noble elements. Significant breakthroughs have been achieved with certain first row transition metal complexes in terms of low overpotentials and large turnover rates, but the majority of reported work utilized purified and deoxygenated solvents (most commonly mixtures of organic solvents/acids). Realizing that the design of earth abundant metal catalysts that operate under truly ambient conditions remains an unresolved challenge, we have now developed an electronically tuned Co(III) corrole that can catalyze the HER from aqueous sulfuric acid at as low as -0.3 V vs NHE, with a turnover frequency of 600 s(-1) and ≫10(7) catalytic turnovers. Under aerobic conditions, using H2O from naturally available sources without any pretreatment, the same complex catalyzes the reduction of H(+) with a Faradaic Yield (FY) of 52%. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that the electron density on a putative hydride species is delocalized off from the H atom into the macrocycle. This makes the protonation of a [Co(III)-H](-) species the rate determining step (rds) for the HER consistent with the experimental data.

Direct observation of intermediates formed during steady-state electrocatalytic O2 reduction by iron porphyrins

Heme/porphyrin-based electrocatalysts (both synthetic and natural) have been known to catalyze electrochemical O2, H+, and CO2 reduction for more than five decades. So far, no direct spectroscopic investigations of intermediates formed on the electrodes during these processes have been reported; and this has limited detailed understanding of the mechanism of these catalysts, which is key to their development. Rotating disk electrochemistry coupled to resonance Raman spectroscopy is reported for iron porphyrin electrocatalysts that reduce O2 in buffered aqueous solutions. Unlike conventional single-turnover intermediate trapping experiments, these experiments probe the system while it is under steady state. A combination of oxidation and spin-state marker bands and metal ligand vibrations (identified using isotopically enriched substrates) allow in situ identification of O2-derived intermediates formed on the electrode surface. This approach, combining dynamic electrochemistry with resonance Raman spectroscopy, may be routinely used to investigate a plethora of metalloporphyrin complexes and heme enzymes used as electrocatalysts for small-molecule activation.

Electrocatalytic O2-Reduction by Synthetic Cytochrome c Oxidase Mimics: Identification of a “Bridging Peroxo” Intermediate Involved in Facile 4e–/4H+ O2-Reduction

A synthetic heme-Cu CcO model complex shows selective and highly efficient electrocatalytic 4e(-)/4H(+) O2-reduction to H2O with a large catalytic rate (>10(5) M(-1) s(-1)). While the heme-Cu model (FeCu) shows almost exclusive 4e(-)/4H(+) reduction of O2 to H2O (detected using ring disk electrochemistry and rotating ring disk electrochemistry), when imidazole is bound to the heme (Fe(Im)Cu), this same selective O2-reduction to water occurs only under slow electron fluxes. Surface enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy coupled to dynamic electrochemistry data suggests the formation of a bridging peroxide intermediate during O2-reduction by both complexes under steady state reaction conditions, indicating that O-O bond heterolysis is likely to be the rate-determining step (RDS) at the mass transfer limited region. The O-O vibrational frequencies at 819 cm(-1) in (16)O2 (759 cm(-1) in (18)O2) for the FeCu complex and at 847 cm(-1) (786 cm(-1)) for the Fe(Im)Cu complex, indicate the formation of side-on and end-on bridging Fe-peroxo-Cu intermediates, respectively, during O2-reduction in an aqueous environment. These data suggest that side-on bridging peroxide intermediates are involved in fast and selective O2-reduction in these synthetic complexes. The greater amount of H2O2 production by the imidazole bound complex under fast electron transfer is due to 1e(-)/1H(+) O2-reduction by the distal Cu where O2 binding to the water bound low spin Fe(II) complex is inhibited.

O2 reduction reaction by biologically relevant anionic ligand bound iron porphyrin complexes.

Iron porphyrin complex with a covalently attached thiolate ligand and another with a covalently attached phenolate ligand has been synthesized. The thiolate bound complex shows spectroscopic features characteristic of P450, including the hallmark absorption spectrum of the CO adduct. Electrocatalytic O2 reduction by this complex, which bears a terminal alkyne group, is investigated by both physiabsorbing on graphite surfaces (fast electron transfer rates) and covalent attachment to azide terminated self-assembled monolayer (physiologically relevant electron transfer rates) using the terminal alkyne group. Analysis of the steady state electrochemical kinetics reveals that this catalyst can selectively reduce O2 to H2O with a second-order k(cat.) ~10(7) M(-1 )s(-1) at pH 7. The analogous phenolate bound iron porphyrin complex reduces O2 with a second-order rate constant of 10(5) M(-1) s(-1) under the same conditions. The anionic ligand bound iron porphyrin complexes catalyze oxygen reduction reactions faster than any known synthetic heme porphyrin analogues. The kinetic parameters of O2 reduction of the synthetic thiolate bound complex, which is devoid of any second sphere effects present in protein active sites, provide fundamental insight into the role of the protein environment in tuning the reactivity of thiolate bound iron porphyrin containing metalloenzymes.

Electrocatalytic O2 reduction reaction by synthetic analogues of cytochrome P450 and myoglobin: in-situ resonance Raman and dynamic electrochemistry investigations.

Bioinspired electrodes have been constructed by physiabsorption of two air stable iron porphyrin complexes, one bearing an imidazole coordination and the other bearing a thiolate coordination. To control the electron transfer (ET) rate to these O2 reducing electrocatalysts, the complexes were immobilized on edge plane graphite electrode and alkyl thiol self-assembled monolayer (SAM) modified Au electrodes with varying chain lengths of the thiols. Catalyst immobilized SAM modified surfaces were characterized using surface enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy (SERRS), and their electrocatalytic O2 reduction properties were investigated using rotating ring disc electrochemistry (RRDE). While the imidazole bound complex showed increase in partially reduced oxygen species (PROS) on decreasing ET rate, the thiolate bound complex showed the opposite trend, that is, the value of PROS reduced on decreasing the ET rate. SERRS coupled to rotating disc electrochemistry (SERRS-RDE) technique helps gain insight into the O2 reduction mechanism. The results obtained indicate that while the imidazole bound iron porphyrin complex reduces O2 through an inner sphere mechanism using a high-spin (HS) Fe(II) species, the thiolate ligated complex shows an inner sphere as well as outer sphere mechanism using a HS Fe(II) and low-spin (LS) Fe(II) species, respectively. The PROS formation by a HS Fe(II) species of this thiolate bound complex increases with decreasing ET rates while that of a LS Fe(II) species decreases with decreasing ET rates.

Self-assembled monolayers of Aβ peptides on Au electrodes: an artificial platform for probing the reactivity of redox active metals and cofactors relevant to Alzheimer's disease.

The water-soluble hydrophilic part of human Aβ peptide has been extended to include a C-terminal cysteine residue. Utilizing the thiol functionality of this cysteine residue, self-assembled monolayers (SAM) of these peptides are formed on Au electrodes. Atomic force microscopy imaging confirms formation of small Aβ aggregates on the surface of the electrode. These aggregates bind redox active metals like Cu and cofactors like heme, both of which are proposed to generate toxic partially reduced oxygen species (PROS) and play a vital role in Alzheimers disease. The spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of these Cu and heme bound Aβ SAM are similar to those reported for the soluble Cu and heme bound Aβ peptide. Experiments performed on these Aβ-SAM electrodes clearly demonstrate that (1) heme bound Aβ is kinetically more competent in reducing O(2) than Cu bound Aβ, (2) under physiological conditions the reduced Cu site produces twice as much PROS (measured in situ) than the reduced heme site, and (3) chelators like clioquinol remove Cu from these aggregates, while drugs like methylene blue inhibit O(2) reactivity of the heme cofactor. This artificial construct provides a very easy platform for investigating potential drugs affecting aggregation of human Aβ peptides and PROS generation by its complexes with redox active metals and cofactors.

Concerted Proton–Electron Transfer in Electrocatalytic O2 Reduction by Iron Porphyrin Complexes: Axial Ligands Tuning H/D Isotope Effect

The electrochemical O2 reduction by thiolate- and imidazole-bound iron porphyrin complexes and H/D isotope effects on 4e(-) (determined by rotating disc electrochemistry) and 2e(-) (determined by rotating ring disc electrochemistry) O2 reduction rates are investigated. The results indicate that a thiolate axial ligand shows an H/D isotope effect greater than 18 and 47 for the 4e(-) and 2e(-) O2 reductions, respectively. Alternatively, an imidazole axial ligand results in H/D isotope effects of 1.04 and 4.7 for the 4e(-) and 2e(-) O2 reduction, respectively. The catalytic O2 reduction mechanism is investigated in situ with resonance Raman coupled with rotating disc electrochemistry. The data indicate that the rate-determining step changes from O-O bond heterolysis of Fe(III)-OOH species for a thiolate axial ligand to an O-O bond heterolysis of an Fe(II)-OOH for an imidazole axial ligand.

Site-specific covalent attachment of heme proteins on self-assembled monolayers

Naturally occurring hemin cofactor has been functionalized to introduce two terminal alkyne groups. This modified hemin has been successfully covalently attached to mixed self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiols and azide-terminated alkanethiols on gold electrodes using a CuI-catalyzed 1,3-cycloaddition reaction. However these hemin-modified electrodes could not be used to reconstitute apomyoglobin on gold electrodes owing to the hydrophobicity of the alkane thiol self-assembled monolayer. Modification of existing techniques allowed covalent attachment of alkyne-terminated electroactive species onto mixed monolayers of azidothiols and carboxylatoalkanethiols on electrodes using the same CuI-catalyzed 1,3-cycloaddition reaction. Apomyoglobin could be reconstituted using the hemin covalently attached to these hydrophilic electrodes. The electrochemical data, UV–vis absorption data, surface-enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy data, and atomic force microscopy data indicate the presence of these modified myoglobin proteins on these electrodes. The direct attachment of the heme cofactor of these modified myoglobin proteins to the electrode allows fast electron transfer to the heme center from the electrode and affords efficient O2-reducing bioelectrodes under physiological conditions.Graphical Abstract

Ammonium Tetrathiomolybdate: A Versatile Catalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction from Water under Ambient and Hostile Conditions

The lack of catalysts that can selectively reduce protons to produce hydrogen from water in the presence of oxygen and other conventional inhibitors of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has been a fundamental problem stalling the development of a practical hydrogen economy. Ammonium tetrathiomolybdate (ATM), a common laboratory reagent, spontaneously assembles on Au electrodes. Atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data indicate formation of multiple layers of ATM which are stable over a wide pH range for days. These assemblies can produce hydrogen with very low onset potentials. It shows a turnover rate of 1.4 s(-1) and turnover number >5 × 10(4) in pH 7 at 180 mV overpotential. The pH dependence of the peak potential suggests that the generation of H2 from water proceeds likely via a ligand based proton coupled electron transfer process which precludes inhibition by O2. The ATM functionalized Au electrodes are found to efficiently catalyze HER in saline rich, CO saturated, and sulfide rich water sources with minimal inhibition of catalytic activity.

A hydrogen bond scaffold supported synthetic heme FeIII–O2− adduct

A hydrogen bonded heme-Fe(III)-O(2)(-) adduct is stabilized and characterized using resonance Raman and EPR spectroscopy. The low O-O vibrations of this complex are quite different from those reported for other heme-Fe(III)-O(2)(-) adducts.