Mechanistic Insight into the O2Evolution Catalyzed by Copper Complexes with Tetra- And Pentadentate Ligands

Gorantla, K.R. and Mallik, B.S. (2021) Mechanistic Insight into the O2Evolution Catalyzed by Copper Complexes with Tetra- And Pentadentate Ligands. Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 125 (29). pp. 6461-6473. ISSN 10895639

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Abstract

The mononuclear complexes ([(bztpen)Cu] (BF4)2 (bztpen = N-benzyl-N,N′,N′-tris (pyridin-2-yl methyl ethylenediamine))) and ([(dbzbpen)Cu(OH2)] (BF4)2 (dbzbpen = N,N′-dibenzyl-N,N′-bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl) ethylenediamine)) have been reported as water oxidation catalysts in basic medium (pH = 11.5). We explore the O2 evolution process catalyzed by these copper catalysts with various ligands (L) by applying the first-principles molecular dynamics simulations. First, the oxidation of catalysts to the metal-oxo intermediates [LCu(O)]2+ occurs through the proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) process. These intermediates are involved in the oxygen-oxygen bond formation through the water-nucleophilic addition process. Here, we have considered two types of oxygen-oxygen bond formation. The first one is the transfer of the hydroxide of the water molecule to the Cu=O moiety; the proton transfer to the solvent leads to the formation of the peroxide complex ([LCu(OOH)]+). The other is the formation of the hydrogen peroxide complex ([LCu(HOOH)]2+) by the transfer of proton and hydroxide of the water molecule to the metal-oxo intermediate. The formation of the peroxide complex requires less activation free energy than hydrogen peroxide formation for both catalysts. We found two transition states in the well-tempered metadynamics simulations: one for proton transfer and another for hydroxide transfer. In both cases, the proton transfer requires higher free energy. Following the formation of the oxygen-oxygen bond, we study the release of the dioxygen molecule. The formed peroxide and hydrogen peroxide complexes are converted into the superoxide complex ([LCu(OO)]2+) through the transfer of proton, electron, and PCET processes. The superoxide complex releases an oxygen molecule upon the addition of a water molecule. The free energy of activation for the release of the dioxygen molecule is lesser than that of the oxygen-oxygen bond formation. When we observe the entire water oxidation process, the oxygen-oxygen bond formation is the rate-determining step. We calculated the rates of reaction by using the Eyring equation and found them to be close to the experimental values. © 2021 American Chemical Society.

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IITH Creators:
IITH CreatorsORCiD
Mallik, Bhabani Shankarhttp://orcid.org/0000-0001-9657-1497
Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Activation free energy; First principles molecular dynamics; Free energy of activations; Metadynamics simulations; Nucleophilic additions; Proton coupled electron transfers; Rate determining step; Water oxidation catalysts
Subjects: Chemistry
Divisions: Department of Chemistry
Depositing User: Mrs Haseena VKKM
Date Deposited: 25 Apr 2022 11:42
Last Modified: 25 Apr 2022 11:42
URI: http://raiith.iith.ac.in/id/eprint/9246
Publisher URL: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpca.1c06008
OA policy: https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/id/publication/21298
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