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Published on: October 5, 2019
Not that innocent - ammonium ions boost homogeneous light-driven hydrogen evolution
Magdalena Heiland1, Ratnadip De2,3, Sven Rau1
1Institute of Inorganic Chemistry I, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany. sven.rau@uni-ulm.de.
Abstract:
We report that the homogeneous light-driven hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) can be significantly enhanced by the presence of seemingly innocent ammonium (NH4+) cations. Experimental studies with different catalysts, photosensitizers and electron donors show this to be a general effect. Preliminary photophysical and mechanistic studies provide initial suggestions regarding the role of ammonium in the HER enhancement.
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