Fluorinated-cobalt phthalocyanine catalyzed oxygen reduction at liquid/liquid interfaces

Abstract

Cobalt fluoro-phthalocyanine (CoFPc) can efficiently catalyze the reduction of oxygen (O2) by a weak electron donor, namely tetrathiafulvalene (TTF), at the polarized water/1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) interface. Two-phase shake flask experiments and ion transfer voltammetry results suggest that the catalytic reaction proceeds as a proton-coupled electron transfer reduction of oxygen to mainly hydrogen peroxide, where a proton transfer from water to DCE is occurring concomitantly with the electron transfer reaction between TTF and oxygen.