Improvement of Electrochemical Water Oxidation by Fine‐Tuning the Structure of Tetradentate N4 Ligands of Molecular Copper Catalysts

Two copper complexes, [L1Cu(OH2)](BF4)2 [1, L1 = N,N′-dimethyl-N,N′-bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)-1,2-diaminoethane] and [L2Cu(OH2)](BF4)2 [2, L2 = 2,7-bis(2-pyridyl)-3,6-diaza-2,6-octadiene], were prepared as molecular water oxidation catalysts. Complex 1 displayed an overpotential (η) of 1.07 V at 1 mA cm−2 and an observed rate constant (kobs) of 13.5 s−1 at η 1.0 V in pH 9.0 phosphate buffer solution, while 2 exhibited a significantly smaller η (0.70 V) to reach 1 mA cm−2 and a higher kobs (50.4 s−1) than 1 under identical test conditions. Additionally, 2 displayed a better stability than 1 in controlled potential electrolysis experiments in a Faradaic efficiency of 94% for O2 evolution at 1.58 V, when a casing tube was used for Pt cathode. The possible mechanism for 1- and 2-catalyzed O2 evolution reactions is discussed based on the experimental evidence. These comparative results indicate that fine tuning structures of tetradentate N4 ligands can bring about significant change in the performance of copper complexes for electrochemical water oxidation.