Electrocatalytic Dihydrogen Production with a Robust Mesoionic Pyridylcarbene Cobalt Catalyst

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 54; no. 46; pp. 13792 - 13795
• Main Authors: van der Meer, Margarethe, Glais, Estelle, Siewert, Inke, Sarkar, Biprajit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim WILEY-VCH Verlag 09.11.2015; WILEY‐VCH Verlag; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Edition: International ed. in English
• Subjects: Bonding; Catalysts; cobalt; cyclic voltammetry; dihydrogen production; Electrocatalysts; Electrodes; Hydrogenase; Ligands; mesoionic carbenes; pyridylcarbenes; Robustness; Triazoles; mesoionic carbenes; dihydrogen production; cobalt; cyclic voltammetry; pyridylcarbenes
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201506061

A CoIII complex with a mesoionic pyridylcarbene ligand is presented. This complex is an efficient electrocatalyst for H2 production at very low overpotential and high turnovers when using a (glassy carbon) GC electrode. The corresponding triazole complexes display no catalytic activity whatsoever under identical conditions. The remarkable robustness of the CoC(carbene) bond towards acids is likely responsible for the high efficiency of this catalyst. The present results thus open new avenues for carbene‐based ligands for generating functional models for hydrogenases. A CoIII complex with a mesoionic pyridylcarbene ligand is presented. This complex acts as a potent catalyst for electrocatalytic H2 production, delivering high turnover frequencies at low overpotentials. The present results thus open new avenues for carbene‐based ligands for generating functional models for hydrogenases.