Traditional homogeneous water oxidation catalysts are plagued by instability under the reaction conditions. We report that the complex [Co4(H2O)2(PW9O34)2]10-, comprising a Co4O4 core stabilized by oxidatively resistant polytungstate ligands, is a hydrolytically and oxidatively stable homogeneous water oxidation catalyst that self-assembles in water from salts of earth-abundant elements (Co, W, and P). With [Ru(bpy)3]3+ (bpy is 2,2'-bipyridine) as the oxidant, we observe catalytic turnover frequencies for O2 production > or = 5 s(-1) at pH = 8. The rate's pH sensitivity reflects the pH dependence of the four-electron O2-H2O couple. Extensive spectroscopic, electrochemical, and inhibition studies firmly indicate that [Co4(H2O)2(PW9O34)2]10- is stable under catalytic turnover conditions: Neither hydrated cobalt ions nor cobalt hydroxide/oxide particles form in situ.
In the last five years and currently, research on solar fuels has been intense and no sub-area in this field has been more active than the development of water oxidation catalysts (WOCs). In this timeframe, a new class of molecular water oxidation catalysts based on polyoxometalates have been reported that combine the advantages of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. This review addresses central issues in green energy generation, the challenges in water oxidation catalyst development, and the possible uses of polyoxometalates in green energy science.
The abundant-metal-based polyoxometalate complex [Co(4)(H(2)O)(2)(PW(9)O(34))(2)](10-) is a hydrolytically and oxidatively stable, homogeneous, and efficient molecular catalyst for the visible-light-driven catalytic oxidation of water. Using a sacrificial electron acceptor and photosensitizer, it exhibits a high (30%) photon-to-O(2) yield and a large turnover number (>220, limited solely by depletion of the sacrificial electron acceptor) at pH 8. The photocatalytic performance of this catalyst is superior to that of the previously reported precious-metal-based polyoxometalate water oxidation catalyst [{Ru(4)O(4)(OH)(2)(H(2)O)(4)}(γ-SiW(10)O(36))(2)](10-).
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