Water oxidation catalyzed by cobalt(II) adsorbed on silica nanoparticles.
A novel, highly efficient, and stable water oxidation catalyst was prepared by a pH-controlled adsorption of Co(II) on ~10 nm diameter silica nanoparticles. A lower limit of ~300 s(-1) per cobalt atom for the catalyst turnover frequency in oxygen evolution was estimated, which attests to a very high catalytic activity. Electron microscopy revealed that cobalt is adsorbed on the SiO(2) nanoparticle surfaces as small (1-2 nm) clusters of Co(OH)(2). This catalyst is optically transparent over the entire UV-vis range and is thus suitable for mechanistic investigations by time-resolved spectroscopic techniques.
Chemistry Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA.
Tomer
T
Zidki
Lihua
L
Zhang
Vladimir
V
Shafirovich
Sergei V
SV
Lymar