A Molecular Copper Catalyst for Electrochemical Water Reduction with a Large Hydrogen‐Generation Rate Constant in Aqueous Solution

Abstract

Abstract The copper complex [(bztpen)Cu](BF 4 ) 2 (bztpen= N ‐benzyl‐ N , N ′, N ′‐tris(pyridin‐2‐ylmethyl)ethylenediamine) displays high catalytic activity for electrochemical proton reduction in acidic aqueous solutions, with a calculated hydrogen‐generation rate constant ( k obs ) of over 10000 s −1 . A turnover frequency (TOF) of 7000 h −1 cm −2 and a Faradaic efficiency of 96 % were obtained from a controlled potential electrolysis (CPE) experiment with [(bztpen)Cu] 2+ in pH 2.5 buffer solution at −0.90 V versus the standard hydrogen electrode (SHE) over two hours using a glassy carbon electrode. A mechanism involving two proton‐coupled reduction steps was proposed for the dihydrogen generation reaction catalyzed by [(bztpen)Cu] 2+ .