Exposing Metal Centers in Carborane-Protected Copper Cluster Electrocatalysts

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Catalysis
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Carborane-ligand-protected metal clusters offer stability and unique properties.
• Bulky carborane ligands often hinder catalytic applications by shielding active sites.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a mixed-ligand strategy to overcome ligand shielding in carborane-protected metal clusters.
• To enhance catalytic performance by dynamically tuning active sites.

Main Methods:

• Coassembling strong carboranylthiolate ligands with weak phosphine ligands.
• Utilizing a dual-ligand system for dynamic ligand tuning.
• Evaluating catalyst performance in the electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR).

Main Results:

• Achieved superior performance in the electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction.
• The optimal Ag3Cu2 cluster exhibited a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 92.3 ± 0.5% for NO3- to NO2-/NH3.
• Demonstrated a total FE of 99.2 ± 0.8%.

Conclusions:

• The dual-ligand system effectively balances stability and activity in nanocatalysts.
• This strategy provides a versatile approach to activate carborane-protected clusters for various catalytic transformations.
• Offers a generalizable framework for designing high-performance catalysts with tunable active sites.