Hydrogen gas (H2) provides an alternative solution to world’s growing demand of clean and sustainable energy. Most of the H2 produced worldwide (&gt;90%) is derived from fossils fuels such as crude oil and natural gas. Moreover, carbon dioxide (CO2), a green-house gas, is produced during the process. Alternatively, H2 can be produced from the oxidation of readily available water (H2O). But this process is energetically uphill, and demands the use of efficient catalysts to make it sustainable. The photosystem II (PS II) from the nature utilizes the sunlight to oxidize H2O into oxygen (O2), protons (H+) and electrons (e-). The resulting protons and electrons can then be used to produce H2. This oxidation chemistry in PS II is performed by an inorganic Mn4CaO5 cluster, called O2-evolving complex (OEC). The work herein highlights our strategies to construct the Mn4CaO5 cluster that could mimic the function of OEC, and eventually lead to the production of H2. We envision to exploit the ligand-assisted self-assembly attribute of manganese-oxygen clusters to accomplish this goal. A new family of rationally designed ligands will be synthesized to assemble the Mn4CaO5 clusters. Further, the catalytic efficiency of the synthesized Mn4CaO5 clusters to oxidize H2O will be evaluated.

Developing manganese-based biomimetic water oxidation catalysts for energy production

2019 Spring National Meeting

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