Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Tuning Oxide Properties by Oxygen Vacancy Control During Growth and Annealing
Published on: June 9, 2023
Tuning the Activity of Heterogeneous Cofacial Cobalt Porphyrins for Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysis through
Amanda N Oldacre1, Matthew R Crawley1, Alan E Friedman2
1Department of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA.
Abstract:
We report a suite of coordination-driven self-assembled prisms for heterogeneous electrocatalytic oxygen reduction (ORR) differing in the molecular clips linking two porphyrin faces in a cofacial arrangement. ORR activities and selectivities of monomeric CoTPyP along with cofacial prisms Ox-Co, Oxa-Co, and Benzo-Co were probed using cyclic voltammetry and rotating ring-disk techniques. All species were immobilized as heterogeneous catalysts on glassy carbon electrodes using a Nafion ink method. The selectivities of Ox-Co, Oxa-Co, and Benzo-Co prisms towards H2 O as determined by RRDE were 87, 97, and 75 %, respectively. The current density of the Oxa-Co plateaus at five times that of Pt/C when normalized per Co/Pt. The high synthetic yield (79 %), competitive overpotential (η ≈800 mV) and high selectivity (%H2 O ≈97 %) of the Oxa-Co highlights how self-assembly can be used to address multi-electron multi-proton transformations using polynuclear catalysts.
Related Concept Videos
Protein Complex Assembly
Many viruses self-assemble into a fully functional unit using the infected host cell to...
Oxidation-Reduction Reactions
Problem-Solving: Tuning of a Guitar String
The string's wave speed can be regulated by varying the linear density. Tension is the other property that determines the speed of...
Oxygen Transport in the Blood
Oxygen Delivering System II: Venturi Mask and Transtracheal Oxygen
Venturi Mask
The Venturi mask, named after the Venturi effect, is designed to deliver precise oxygen concentrations. It consists of a large tube with an oxygen inlet that narrows down, causing a pressure drop that pulls air in through adjustable side ports. The mask is a lightweight,...
Oxygenic Photosynthesis

