Abstract:
Recently, there is gradual increase in demand for renewable energy due to global energy crisis and hydrogen production from water offers a promising approach. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of an octahedral Ni6L18 based one dimensional coordination network derived from a N-donor tripodal silane ligand MeSi(3-py)3 and study of their electrocatalytic and photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution from water. The 1-D cage (1) is highly soluble in water and organic solvents like acetonitrile, methanol etc. The UV-Visible studies reveals that the complex is highly stable in solution. The electrochemical analysis of 1 in aqueous BR buffer solution have revealed that it exhibits two quasi reversible redox couples Ni+2/Ni+1 and Ni+3/Ni+2. Further, the Pourbaix diagram and pH dependent LSV studies reveal that 1 exhibits the proton coupled electron process (PCET) which is vital for proton reduction reaction. Further, acetic acid dependent cyclic voltammetry were performed which revealed the TOF of 53s-1 for the H2 evolution reaction from water catalyzed by 1. Remarkably, the photocatalytic activity performed for 69hr using 100μM, 150μM, and 200 μM concentrations of 1, [Ru(byp)3]+2 as PS and ascorbic acid as sacrificial electron donor resulted in a TON of 1230.
