Molecular aspects, electrochemical properties and water oxidation catalysis on a nanoporous TiO2 electrode anchoring a mononuclear ruthenium(II) aquo complex

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A mononuclear Ru aquo complex, [Ru(C8Otpy)(H2dcbpy)(OH2)]2+ (C8Otpy = 4′-octyloxy-2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine, H2dcbpy = 4,4′-dicarboxy-2,2′-bipyridine) was stably adsorbed on a nanoporous TiO2 surface to afford a TiO2 electrode anchoring the complex. The adsorption isothermal of the complex on the TiO2 surface was analyzed by the Langmuir adsorption model to provide a maximum coverage of Гmax = 4.4 × 10−8 mol cm−2 and an adsorption equilibrium constant of Kads = 1.1 × 104 M−1, suggesting that the monolayer of the complex is formed on the TiO2 surface. The cyclic voltammetry measurement of the complex on the TiO2 surface suggested the diffusion-controlled charge transport via electron hopping between the complexes through the TiO2 layer. Pourbaix diagram showed that the complex undergoes a non-H+-coupled 1e- redox reaction of a RuIIOH/RuIIIOH pair of the complex on the TiO2 electrode due to pH buffering ability of the TiO2 surface in a range of pH 5−11. Bulk electrolysis at 1.7 V vs Ag/AgCl using the complex-anchoring TiO2 electrode provided a high and steady catalytic current density of 0.39 mA cm−2 with 83 % Faradaic efficiency for O2 evolution during 1 h electrolysis. However, we presume that the complex is transformed to RuOx nanoparticles on the TiO2 electrode during the electrocatalysis, on the basis of our earlier report on the complex / mesoporous ITO electrode system (Dalton Trans., 2020, 49, 1416−1423.). The RuOH/TiO2 electrode is the efficient anode for water oxidation under the acidic conditions, irrespective of the molecular catalyst of RuOH and the alternative catalysts formed via its oxidative transformation.