PNNL

Abstract

Increased worldwide energy demand will require greater use of carbon-neutral sustainable energy sources. The intermittent nature of solar and wind power requires storage of energy, so electrocatalysts that convert electrical energy to chemical bonds in fuels are needed. Platinum is an excellent catalyst, but it is of low abundance and high cost. Hydrogenase enzymes in Nature catalyze the evolution of H2 and use earth-abundant metals such as nickel and iron. We report that a synthetic nickel catalyst, [Ni(7PPh2NPh)2](BF4)2, (7PPh2NPh = 1,3,6-triphenyl-1-aza-3,6-diphosphacycloheptane) catalyzes the production of H2 using [(DMF)H]+OTf as the proton source, with turnover frequencies of 31,000 s-1 in dry acetonitrile and 108,000 s-1 in the presence of H2O (1.2 M), at a potential of -1.13 V (vs. the ferrocenium/ferrocene couple). These turnover frequencies exceed those reported for the [FeFe] hydrogenase enzyme by more than an order of magnitude, and are the fastest reported for any molecular catalyst for H2 production. This material is based upon work supported as part of the Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences.