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Updated: Sep 30, 2025

Multiscale Sampling of a Heterogeneous Water/Metal Catalyst Interface using Density Functional Theory and Force-Field Molecular Dynamics
Published on: April 12, 2019
Promoting Proton Transfer and Stabilizing Intermediates in Catalytic Water Oxidation via Hydrophobic Outer Sphere
Tianqi Liu1, Ge Li2, Nannan Shen3
1Department of Chemistry, School of Engineering Sciences in, Chemistry Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 10044, Stockholm, Sweden.
Abstract:
The outer coordination sphere of metalloenzyme often plays an important role in its high catalytic activity, however, this principle is rarely considered in the design of man-made molecular catalysts. Herein, four Ru-bda (bda=2,2'-bipyridine-6,6'-dicarboxylate) based molecular water oxidation catalysts with well-defined outer spheres are designed and synthesized. Experimental and theoretical studies showed that the hydrophobic environment around the Ru center could lead to thermodynamic stabilization of the high-valent intermediates and kinetic acceleration of the proton transfer process during catalytic water oxidation. By this outer sphere stabilization, a 6-fold rate increase for water oxidation catalysis has been achieved.
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