Electronic Modification of the [Ru^II(tpy)(bpy)(OH₂)]²⁺ Scaffold: Effects on Catalytic Water Oxidation

Abstract

The mechanistic details of the Ce(IV)-driven oxidation of water mediated by a series of structurally related catalysts formulated as [Ru(tpy)(L)(OH(2))](2+) [L = 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy), 1; 4,4'-dimethoxy-2,2'-bipyridine (bpy-OMe), 2; 4,4'-dicarboxy-2,2'-bipyridine (bpy-CO(2)H), 3; tpy = 2,2';6'',2''-terpyridine] is reported. Cyclic voltammetry shows that each of these complexes undergo three successive (proton-coupled) electron-transfer reactions to generate the [Ru(V)(tpy)(L)O](3+) ([Ru(V)=O](3+)) motif; the relative positions of each of these redox couples reflects the nature of the electron-donating or withdrawing character of the substituents on the bpy ligands. The first two (proton-coupled) electron-transfer reaction steps (k(1) and k(2)) were determined by stopped-flow spectroscopic techniques to be faster for 3 than 1 and 2. The addition of one (or more) equivalents of the terminal electron-acceptor, (NH(4))(2)[Ce(NO(3))(6)] (CAN), to the [Ru(IV)(tpy)(L)O](2+) ([Ru(IV)=O](2+)) forms of each of the catalysts, however, leads to divergent reaction pathways. The addition of 1 eq of CAN to the [Ru(IV)=O](2+) form of 2 generates [Ru(V)=O](3+) (k(3) = 3.7 M(-1) s(-1)), which, in turn, undergoes slow O-O bond formation with the substrate (k(O-O) = 3 × 10(-5) s(-1)). The minimal (or negligible) thermodynamic driving force for the reaction between the [Ru(IV)=O](2+) form of 1 or 3 and 1 eq of CAN results in slow reactivity, but the rate-determining step is assigned as the liberation of dioxygen from the [Ru(IV)-OO](2+) level under catalytic conditions for each complex. Complex 2, however, passes through the [Ru(V)-OO](3+) level prior to the rapid loss of dioxygen. Evidence for a competing reaction pathway is provided for 3, where the [Ru(V)=O](3+) and [Ru(III)-OH](2+) redox levels can be generated by disproportionation of the [Ru(IV)=O](2+) form of the catalyst (k(d) = 1.2 M(-1) s(-1)). An auxiliary reaction pathway involving the abstraction of an O-atom from CAN is also implicated during catalysis. The variability of reactivity for 1-3, including the position of the RDS and potential for O-atom transfer from the terminal oxidant, is confirmed to be intimately sensitive to electron density at the metal site through extensive kinetic and isotopic labeling experiments. This study outlines the need to strike a balance between the reactivity of the [Ru═O](z) unit and the accessibility of higher redox levels in pursuit of robust and reactive water oxidation catalysts.

Intramolecular Proton Transfer Boosts Water Oxidation Catalyzed by a Ru Complex

“…A similar mechanism was proposed recently for related mononuclear complexes. 46,51 Furthermore, such a mechanism based on disproportionation of 4 is consistent with the lack of a returning wave for the IV/III redox couple as shown in the CV in Figure 5 (right).…”

Highly efficient and robust molecular ruthenium catalysts for water oxidation

“…5). This large TON number is about 100 times higher than ½RuðterpyÞðbpyÞðOH 2 Þ 2þ (terpy ¼ 2; 2 0 ∶6 0 ; 2 00 -terpyridine; bpy ¼ 2; 2 0 -bipyridine) type complexes (26)(27)(28), the Ru-Hbpp [Hbpp ¼ 2; 6-bis(pyridyl)pyrazole] WOC (29), and our Ru-pdc (pdc ¼ 2; 6-pyridinedicarboxylate) complexes (30), and five times higher than the robust Ir-Cp* (Cp à ¼ C 5 Me 5 ) WOCs (8) and our dinuclear Ru complex (31). The specific lifetime of selected Ru-bda complexes under the given conditions as well as the free energy values of the ligand exchange reaction are collected in Table 1 and plotted in Fig.…”

Hydrogen Bonding Rescues Overpotential in Seven-Coordinated Ru Water Oxidation Catalysts

“…4 Molecular transition metal complexes constitute an excellent platform to examine these factors since significant information based on an arsenal of spectroscopic, electrochemical and analytical techniques can be used together with the valuable complementary information provided by computational studies. 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14 The best water oxidation catalysts reported today are based on seven coordinated Ru complexes containing dianionic ligands such as [2,2'-bipyridine]-6,6'-dicarboxylato (bda 2-) 15,16,17 and [2,2':6',2''-terpyridine]-6,6''-dicarboxylato (tda 2-) (see Figure 1 for drawn structures of these ligands). Particularly impressive is the seven coordinate complex [Ru IV (tda--N 3 O)(py)2(O) eq ], 4 IV (O), (the superscript in roman numbers indicates the formal oxidation state of Ru; py is pyridine; the "eq" superscript means equatorial) that is capable of oxidizing water to dioxygen at maximum turnover frequencies (TOFMAX) of 7,700 s -1 and 50,000 s -1 at pH = 7.0 and pH = 10.0 respectively.…”