A Binuclear Cobalt Complex in the Electrochemical Water Oxidation Reaction

The water splitting reaction represents an appealing approach to store solar energy. 4e−/4H+ oxidation of generating O2 is considered as the bottleneck in this and usually requires a rather large over potential. We report on synthesis application binuclear cobalt(III) complex, 1, with two μ-OH ligands tripodal triazole ligands, L, electrochemical (WOR; L=tris((1-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl)amine). centres complex exhibit octahedral coordination geometry stable water. Electrochemical studies revealed that solutions 1NO3 catalyse WOR phosphate or borate buffer. However, further analysis showed, precursor decomposes under applied A smooth deposit formed electrode surface, which highly active catalysis. consists mainly cobalt oxide/hydroxide, accounts for catalytic activity, small amounts 1NO3.