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Investigation of electrocatalytic activity of a new mononuclear Mn(II) complex for water oxidation in alkaline media

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Abstract

Water splitting is a promising way to alleviate the energy crisis. In nature, water oxidation is done by a tetranuclear manganese cluster in photosystem II. Therefore, the study of water oxidation by Mn complexes is attractive in water splitting systems. In this report, a new mononuclear Mn(II) complex, MnL2 (HL = (E)-3-hydroxy-Nʹ-(pyridin-2-ylmethylene)-2-naphthohydrazide) was prepared and characterized by spectroscopic techniques and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Crystallographic analysis indicated that the geometry around the Mn(II) ion is distorted octahedral. The MnN4O2 coordination moiety is achieved by bounding of oxygen and two nitrogen donor atoms of two hydrazone ligands. The synthesized complex was also investigated for electrochemical water oxidation using electrochemical techniques, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometry, and PXRD analysis. Linear sweep voltammetry experiment showed that the modified carbon paste electrode by the complex displays high activity for water oxidation reaction with an overpotential of 565 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and Tafel slope of 105 mV dec−1 in an alkaline solution. It was found that the complex structure finally changes during the reaction and converts to Mn oxide nanoparticles which act as active catalytic species and oxidize the water.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University and Imam Khomeini International University for their financial support of this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Coordination Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, 5375171379, Iran

    Zohreh Shaghaghi & Yahya Heshmati-Sharabiani

  2. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, 34148-96818, Iran

    Rahman Bikas

  3. Biological and Chemical Research Centre, Department of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 101, 02-089, Warsaw, Poland

    Damian Trzybiński & Krzysztof Woźniak

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  1. Zohreh Shaghaghi
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  2. Rahman Bikas
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  3. Yahya Heshmati-Sharabiani
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  4. Damian Trzybiński
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  5. Krzysztof Woźniak
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Correspondence to Rahman Bikas.

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Shaghaghi, Z., Bikas, R., Heshmati-Sharabiani, Y. et al. Investigation of electrocatalytic activity of a new mononuclear Mn(II) complex for water oxidation in alkaline media. Photosynth Res 154, 369–381 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-022-00931-w

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