Demystifying the Role of Covalently Attached Electron-Proton Transfer Mediator in Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalyst

The role of covalent attachment of benzoquinone/hydroquinone as electron-proton transfer mediators in ORR is investigated, and it is found that the catalysis is much more efficient as compared to Co(Sal) (Sal = salophen) alone or Co(Sal) and quinone used separately in terms of selectivity toward H2O formation. While Co(Sal) has only a 3% Faradaic yield for H2O formation, under the same conditions, the Faradaic yield for H2O formation is 80% with Co(Sal-H(2)Q).

Automated summary

The role of covalent attachment of benzoquinone/hydroquinone as electron-proton transfer mediators in ORR has been investigated. It is found that this catalysis is more efficient in terms of selectivity towards H2O formation compared to using only Co(Sal) or Co(Sal) and quinone separately. While Co(Sal) has a 3% Faradaic yield for H2O formation, the Faradaic yield reaches 80% when using Co(Sal-H(2)Q).