Polymeric Unimolecular CO Dehydrogenase Mimic with both Inner and Outer Spheres for Enhanced Photocatalytic CO₂...

Inspired by carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CODH), mimicking its inner and outer spheres is a promising strategy in CO₂ reduction catalyst design. However, artificial CODH-like catalysts are generally limited to the inner sphere effect and only applicable in organic solvents or for electrocatalysis. Herein, an aqueous CODH mimic with both inner and outer spheres for photocatalysis is reported. In this polymeric unimolecular catalyst, the inner sphere is composed of cobalt porphyrin with four appended amido groups and the outer sphere consists of four poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) arms. Upon visible light irradiation (λ >420 nm), the as-prepared catalyst exhibits a turnover number (TON_CO ) of 1731.2 in the reduction of CO₂ into CO, which is comparable to most reported molecular catalysts in aqueous solution. The mechanism studies indicate that, in this water-dispersible and structurally well-defined CODH mimic, the cobalt porphyrin core serves as the catalysis center and the amido groups function as hydrogen-bonding pillars helping to stabilize the CO₂ adduct intermediate, whereas the PDMAEMA shell renders both water solubility and a CO₂ reservoir through reversibly capturing of CO₂ . The present work has clarified the significance of coordination sphere effects for improving the aqueous photocatalytic CO₂ reduction performance of CODH mimics.