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Published Online July 31, 2008
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1162018

Reports

Submitted on June 19, 2008
Accepted on July 18, 2008

In Situ Formation of an Oxygen-Evolving Catalyst in Neutral Water Containing Phosphate and Co2+

Matthew W. Kanan 1 and Daniel G. Nocera 1*

1 Department of Chemistry, 6-335, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139–4307, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Daniel G. Nocera , E-mail: nocera{at}mit.edu

The utilization of solar energy on a large scale requires its storage. In natural photosynthesis, energy from sunlight is used to rearrange the bonds of water to O2 and H2-equivalents. The realization of artificial systems that perform similar "water splitting" requires catalysts that produce O2 from water without the need for excessive driving potentials. Here, we report such a catalyst that forms upon the oxidative polarization of an inert indium tin oxide electrode in phosphate-buffered water containing Co2+. A variety of analytical techniques indicates the presence of phosphate in an approximate 1:2 ratio with cobalt in this material. The pH dependence of the catalytic activity also implicates HPO42– as the proton acceptor in the O2-producing reaction. This catalyst not only forms in situ from earth-abundant materials but also operates in neutral water under ambient conditions.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Inaugural Article: Concerted proton-coupled electron transfers in aquo/hydroxo/oxo metal complexes: Electrochemistry of [OsII(bpy)2py(OH2)]2+ in water.
C. Costentin, M. Robert, J.-M. Saveant, and A.-L. Teillout (2009)
PNAS 106, 11829-11836
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)