Self-assembled nickel cubanes as oxygen evolution catalysts

Ana C García-Álvarez (1) , Stefani Gamboa-Ramírez (2) , Diego Martínez-Otero (1) , Maylis Orio (2) , Ivan Castillo (1)

1 UNAM - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México = National Autonomous University of Mexico
2 ISM2 - Institut des Sciences Moléculaires de Marseille

Ni 4 O 4 cubanes [(l 3-L 1 O)NiCl(MeOH)] 4 (1) and [(l 3-L 2 O)NiCl(H 2 O)] 4 (2) (L 1 OH = 1-H-2-benzimidazolylmethanol, L 2 OH = 1-methyl-2-benzimidazolylmethanol) self-assemble from commercially available 1-Hand 1-methyl-2-benzimidazolylmethanol and NiCl 2 Á6H 2 O in high yields under mild conditions. Both complexes were characterised spectroscopically and by X-ray crystallography. The cubanes oxidise water electrocatalytically to dioxygen at neutral pH in aqueous potassium phosphate buffer solutions. Chart 1 (a) Mn 4 O 5 Ca cluster in PSII; (b) cubane-type M 4 O 4 motif; (c) core of benzimidazole-derived Ni 4 O 4 .

Domaines: Matériaux; Cristallographie; Catalyse

Ana C García-Álvarez, Stefani Gamboa-Ramírez, Diego Martínez-Otero, Maylis Orio, Ivan Castillo. Self-assembled nickel cubanes as oxygen evolution catalysts. Chemical Communications, 2021, 57, pp.8608 - 8611. ⟨10.1039/d1cc03227e⟩. ⟨hal-03549840⟩