Nuclearity effect on water oxidation: a comparative study of dinuclear and mononuclear iron complexes

Rong Yan; Zi-Han Li; Qian-Cheng Luo; Na-Na Sun; Johnny C Ho; Yan-Zhen Zheng

doi:10.1039/d5cc02306h

Nuclearity effect on water oxidation: a comparative study of dinuclear and mononuclear iron complexes

Chem Commun (Camb). 2025 Jul 1. doi: 10.1039/d5cc02306h. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Rong Yan^{1

2

3}, Zi-Han Li¹, Qian-Cheng Luo¹, Na-Na Sun¹, Johnny C Ho^{2

3}, Yan-Zhen Zheng¹

Affiliations

¹ Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Interdisciplinary Research Center of Frontier Science and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, MOE Key Laboratory for Nonequilibrium Synthesis and Modulation of Condensed Matter, Xi'an Key Laboratory of Electronic Devices and Material Chemistry, and School of Chemistry, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710054, P. R. China.
² Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of, Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong.
³ Shenzhen Research Institute, City University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen 518057, P. R. China.

PMID: 40590906
DOI: 10.1039/d5cc02306h

Abstract

A novel dinuclear iron complex [Fe₂(Pmabt)₂(Pbt)₂][ClO₄]₂·2CH₃OH (2Fe-4S, Pmbt = 2-(pyridin-2'-yl)benzothiazoline, Pbt = 2-(pyridin-2-yl)benzo[d]thiazole) is presented. The electrochemical water oxidation properties manifested that 2Fe-4S exhibits a sevenfold higher TOF value compared to the mononuclear counterpart. Kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) showed the distinct O-O bond formation mechanism of the two complexes, underscoring the significant influence of nuclearity on catalytic behavior in water oxidation processes.