A dinuclear cobalt cluster as electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Dinuclear metal clusters mimic metalloenzymes for efficient catalysis.
• Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) is crucial for energy conversion technologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the ORR catalytic activity of a dinuclear {CoII2} cluster.
• To understand the structure-activity relationship of the catalyst for ORR.

Main Methods:

• X-ray single crystal diffraction for structural identification.
• Raman spectroscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) for active site characterization.
• Electrochemical methods to evaluate ORR performance.

Main Results:

• The crystalline {CoII2} catalyst features defined {CoN4O2} active sites.
• Supramolecular porosity and nitrogen sites enhance ORR performance.
• The catalyst exhibits excellent ORR activity following a near 4-electron pathway.

Conclusions:

• The unpyrolyzed crystalline {CoII2} catalyst offers precise active sites and structural information for ORR.
• A single cobalt center-mediated catalytic mechanism for ORR was proposed.
• This work provides insights for designing efficient non-noble metal ORR catalysts.