PNNL

Abstract

The electrocatalytic reduction of protons to H2 by [Ni(PPh2NC6H4-hex2)2](BF4)2 (where PPh2NC6H4-hex2 = 1,5-di(4-n-hexylphenyl)-3,7-diphenyl-1,5-diaza-3,7-diphosphacyclooctane) in the highly acidic ionic liquid dibutylformamidium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide shows a strong dependence on added water. A turnover frequency of 43,000-53,000 s-1 has been measured for hydrogen production at 25 °C when the mole fraction of water (?H2O) is 0.72. The same catalyst in acetonitrile with added dimethylformamidium trifluoromethanesulfonate and water has a turnover frequency of 720 s-1. Thus the use of an ionic liquid/aqueous solution enhances the observed catalytic rates by more than a factor of 50 compared to acids in traditional organic solvents such as acetonitrile. Complexes [Ni(PPh2NC6H4X2)2](BF4)2 (X = H, OMe, CH2P(O)(OEt)2, Br) are also catalysts in the ionic liquid/water mixture, and the observed catalytic rates correlate with the hydrophobicity of X. This research was supported as part of the Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy.