About this Research Topic
The energetic demand of modern society and the environmental impact of fossil fuel combustion, urgently demands the development of carbon-free energy technologies. Green hydrogen is a candidate to play a central role in the energetic transition and its production through water splitting is a hot topic in science. However, active and stable catalysts are necessary to overcome the high kinetic barrier of the oxygen evolution reaction. Scarce and high-cost Noble metals are among the most active catalysts and there is a demand to develop catalysts based on Earth-abundant and low-cost elements.
First-row transition metal complexes have been far less explored in oxygen evolution reactions as molecular catalysts than the heterogeneous materials. However, the molecular catalysts present well-defined structures and electronic properties, and a more straightforward correlation between structure and activity can be outlined, which makes molecular catalysts also very useful for learning about reaction mechanisms.
Although many works have described the performance of the First-row transition metal molecular electrocatalysts for water oxidation, many challenges still need to be overcome for the practical use of the complexes. The lower stability compared to the heterogeneous catalysts is a drawback. Many complexes decompose at the electrode surface and serve as precursors to produce heterogeneous catalysts. Therefore, the design of robust molecular catalysts is still a challenge.
The rational design of the ligands allows the fine-tuning of the structural and electronic properties of the complexes, and consequently electrocatalytic efficiency and stability. Furthermore, proton-coupled electron transfer catalysis is desirable to avoid charge accumulation at the metal center and highly energetic intermediates, the rational design of ligand and metal coordination sphere that can suffer protonation/deprotonation is a key step for active catalysts. This issue will address the recent advances in molecular catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysis, focusing on the rational design of ligands to improve performance and stability, mechanistic insights, proton-coupled electron transfer, and strategies to support the complexes in heterogeneous matrices.
We welcome Original Research, Review, Mini Review and Perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to:
• Real homogenous catalyst for oxygen evolution electrocatalysis
• Heme and non-heme metal complexes
• Rational ligand design and synthetic strategies for new complex synthesis
• Influence of the ligand structure and properties in electrocatalysis performance
• Bioinspired transition metal complexes for oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysis
• Proton-coupled electron transfer
• Mechanism investigation and structure-activity relationship
• Supported metal complexes for heterogeneous electrocatalysis
First-row transition metal complexes have been far less explored in oxygen evolution reactions as molecular catalysts than the heterogeneous materials. However, the molecular catalysts present well-defined structures and electronic properties, and a more straightforward correlation between structure and activity can be outlined, which makes molecular catalysts also very useful for learning about reaction mechanisms.
Although many works have described the performance of the First-row transition metal molecular electrocatalysts for water oxidation, many challenges still need to be overcome for the practical use of the complexes. The lower stability compared to the heterogeneous catalysts is a drawback. Many complexes decompose at the electrode surface and serve as precursors to produce heterogeneous catalysts. Therefore, the design of robust molecular catalysts is still a challenge.
The rational design of the ligands allows the fine-tuning of the structural and electronic properties of the complexes, and consequently electrocatalytic efficiency and stability. Furthermore, proton-coupled electron transfer catalysis is desirable to avoid charge accumulation at the metal center and highly energetic intermediates, the rational design of ligand and metal coordination sphere that can suffer protonation/deprotonation is a key step for active catalysts. This issue will address the recent advances in molecular catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysis, focusing on the rational design of ligands to improve performance and stability, mechanistic insights, proton-coupled electron transfer, and strategies to support the complexes in heterogeneous matrices.
We welcome Original Research, Review, Mini Review and Perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to:
• Real homogenous catalyst for oxygen evolution electrocatalysis
• Heme and non-heme metal complexes
• Rational ligand design and synthetic strategies for new complex synthesis
• Influence of the ligand structure and properties in electrocatalysis performance
• Bioinspired transition metal complexes for oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysis
• Proton-coupled electron transfer
• Mechanism investigation and structure-activity relationship
• Supported metal complexes for heterogeneous electrocatalysis
Keywords: oxygen evolution reaction, electrocatalysis, water splitting, first raw transition metals, coordination compounds
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