Stabilizing
interactions between charged electrocatalytic intermediates
and a series of cationic residues were explored through the synthesis
and characterization of six palladium bis(N-heterocyclic
carbene) (NHC) complexes bearing unique onium functionalities. The
presence of a positively charged, pendant substituent was found to
mediate electrode kinetics and facilitate CO2 coordination
to the catalytic center in a systematic fashion. The introduction
of cationic moieties into this system is shown to enhance catalytic
selectivity for the conversion of CO2 to CO by as much
as 5 times that of an alkyl-bearing analog. A combination of electrochemical
experiments and computational analysis demonstrates that catalyst
performance benefits most from a bulky onium unit tethered to the
catalyst through a flexible linker. This behavior was interpreted
as a preference for a wide, hydrophobic reaction pocket that allows
for the unhindered formation of catalytic intermediates and mediated
interaction with the solution.
Electronic communication between the linked metal centers in Ru(ii)–Re(i) dyads is tuned using the oxidation state (S and SO2) of sulfur-bridged ligands.
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