Production of hydrogen (H2) from photo- electrochemical reduction of water could be an efficient process for storing the electrical energy intermediately produced by renewable sources such as sun and wind. In this context, we seek to develop bio-inspired catalysts based on abundant materials to replace platinum, which could lead to a renewable process of H2 synthesis that is economically competitive. Synthetic models of the [FeFe] hydrogenase enzymes have been the subject of numerous studies. Iron-thiolate compounds of the type [Fe2(SRS)(CO)6−xLx] (R = organic group, L = electron-donor ligand, x ≤ 4) catalyze the reduction of a proton source in organic solvents and in aqueous micellar solutions. The catalytic pathway entails successive electron and proton transfers in a sequence that depends on the nature of the terminal ligand L and the strength of the acid used as proton source. The key intermediate is a putative metal-hydride (M-H), the reactivity of which controls the thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of the catalytic process. This presentation will give an electrochemist's view of H2 production catalysis by [FeFe] hydrogenase models, emphasizing selected contributions from the author’s laboratory.

Iron thiolate catalysts for photo- electrochemical hydrogen production

255th National Meeting (2018)

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