Electrochemical conversion of CO 2 to alcohols is one of the most challenging methods of conversion and storage of electrical energy in the form of high-energy fuels. The challenge lies in the catalyst design to enable its real-life implementation. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis and characterization of a cobalt(III) triphenylphosphine corrole complex, which contains three polyethylene glycol residues attached at the meso -phenyl groups. Electron-donation and therefore reduction of the cobalt from cobalt(III) to cobalt(I) is accompanied by removal of the axial ligand, thus resulting in a square-planar cobalt(I) complex. The cobalt(I) as an electron-rich supernucleophilic d 8 -configurated metal centre, where two electrons occupy and fill up the antibonding d z 2 orbital. This orbital possesses high affinity towards electrophiles, allowing for such electronically configurated metals reactions with carbon dioxide. Herein, we report the potential dependent heterogeneous electroreduction of CO 2 to ethanol or methanol of an immobilized cobalt A 3 -corrole catalyst system. In moderately acidic aqueous medium (pH = 6.0), the cobalt corrole modified carbon paper electrode exhibits a Faradaic Efficiency (FE%) of 48 % towards ethanol production.

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1wileyonlinelibrary.com IntroductionHydrogen-bonded organic pigments are a class of materials familiar from applications in the colorant industry, where they fi nd widespread use as materials for robust outdoor paints, cosmetics, and printing inks. [ 1,2 ] Indigo, a natural product, is the oldest and still most widely produced organic dye and pigment ( Figure 1 ). [ 3 ] The intermolecular -NH … O = hydrogen bonding that characterizes indigo is exploited in most of the synthetic hydrogen-bonded pigments as well. This class of materials has proven to be nontoxic and safe for humans, and is considered safer than even several classes of food dyes. [ 4 ] Hydrogen-bonding as a supramolecular engineering tool is useful to control self-assembly and highly relevant to aqueous and biochemical systems. [ 5,6 ] Recently, we have found that indigo, [ 7 ] and some of its derivatives [ 8,9 ] demonstrate ambipolar transport in organic fi eldeffect transistors (OFETs), with mobility ranging from 0.01-0.4 cm 2 V -1 s -1 . We Epindolidiones-Versatile and Stable Hydrogen-Bonded Pigments for Organic Field-Effect Transistors and Light-Emitting DiodesEric Daniel Głowacki , * Giuseppe Romanazzi , Cigdem Yumusak , Halime Coskun , Uwe Monkowius , Gundula Voss , Max Burian , Rainer T. Lechner , Nicola Demitri , Günther J. Redhammer , Nevsal Sünger , Gian Paolo Suranna and Serdar Sariciftci Hydrogen-bonded pigments are remarkably stable high-crystal lattice energy organic solids. Here a lesser-known family of compounds, the epindolidiones, which demonstrates electronic transport with extraordinary stability, even in highly demanding aqueous environments, is reported. Hole mobilities in the range 0.05-1 cm 2 V -1 s -1 can be achieved, with lower electron mobilities of up to 0.1 cm 2 V -1 s -1 . To help understand charge transport in epindolidiones, X-ray diffraction is used to solve the crystal structure of 2,8-difl uoroepindolidione and 2,8-dichloroepindolidione. Both derivatives crystallize with a linear-chain H-bonding lattice featuring two-dimensional π-π stacking. Powder diffraction indicates that the unsubstituted epindolidione has very similar crystallinity. All types of epindolidiones measured here display strong low-energy optical emission originating from excimeric states, which coexists with higher-energy fl uorescence. This can be exploited in light-emitting diodes, which show the same hybrid singlet and low-energy excimer electroluminescence. Low-voltage FETs are fabricated with epindolidione, which operate reliably under repeated cyclic tests in different ionic solutions within the pH range 3-10 without degradation. Finally, in order to overcome the insolubility of epindolidiones in organic solvents, a chemical procedure is devised to allow solution-processing via the introduction of suitable thermolabile solubilizing groups. This work shows the versatile potential of epindolidione pigments for electronics applications.

Conductive polydopamines represent bioinspired paradigm catalysts for efficiently recycling greenhouse gas CO2 to synthetic fuel.

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There exists a tremendous interest in metallic polymers as they combine facile processing, high conductivity and transparency. However, to date no straightforward method has been found to engineer a system that unites high doping and high order. [1][2][3][4][5][6] The apparent conflict lies in the nature of doping of a conducting polymer, which occurs through a distinct mechanism compared to inorganic semiconductors. Severe lattice distortions arise in the doping of conducting polymers as a result of the penetration of ions into the system. Consequently, the solid-state order becomes disrupted-it transforms from a former homogeneous organic vander-Waals crystal into a disordered salt. To form a substantial degree of order, growth methods have to consider the effect of ion penetration. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Small molecular systems have the advantage that they can be dissolved in polar solvents. Thus they can be grown in the doped form as a salt dissolved from Conductive polymers represent a rare case in which free-carrier absorption is shifted to the far-infrared-an attractive advantage in light of the requirement of highly transparent conductors across the visible and near-infrared. Unfortunately, prior approaches to doping these polymers-imperative for high conductance-have consistently led to strong localization arising from fluctuating band alignment among polymer chains. Here, this study overcomes this problem of doping-induced Anderson localization for the first time in polymers by developing a new conductive polymer synthesis strategy. This study achieves polymerization and doping simultaneously, thereby using an alternative nonmetal oxidant and thereby avoiding the introduction of excess energy that normally arises from exergonic polymerization. The resulting conductive polymer is the first to provide electron coherence in a metallic polymer thin film. The conductivity reaches a remarkable 3300 S cm −1 at 1.8 K and the mean electron scattering length a record 330 Å. This enhancement drives the glassy metal transition in the vicinity of the Mott-Ioffe-Regel (MIR) limit. The new metallic polymer achieves 10 −2 Ω −1 figure of merit, making it a contender for transparent conductive contacts previously only accessible using inorganics. The new material offers a uniquely broad transparency window spanning the UV to the mid-infrared. The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under http://dx

We demonstrate the direct bioconjugation of hydrogen-bonded organic semiconductors with two different complex functional proteins in an aqueous environment. The representative semiconductors are epindolidione and quinacridone, materials used in devices in the form of vacuum-evaporated polycrystalline films. First, these molecules in thin films react spontaneously with N-hydroxysuccinimide functionalized linkers: disuccinimidyl suberate and succinimidyl biotinate. The suberate linker is then used to covalently bind the Rhodobacter sphaeroides reaction centre (RC), the key photoenzyme for conversion of light into electrical charges in photosynthetic bacteria. Similarly, the biotin linker is used to bridge streptavidin to the surface of the hydrogen-bonded semiconductor film. Multiple-reflection infrared spectroscopy, water contact angle measurements, and atomic force microscopy are used to verify surface functionalization. The presence and functional integrity of the immobilized proteins are demonstrated by specific experiments: a charge recombination kinetics assay in the case of the RC, and photoluminescence measurements for quantum dot-labelled streptavidin. As key results of our work, we have shown that upon bioconjugation, the semiconductors preserve their favourable electrical properties: as evidenced by photoconductor devices operating under water sensitized by the RC, and thin film transistor measurements before and after bioconjugation. These are enabling steps for using hydrogen-bonded semiconductors as platforms for multifunctional bioelectronics devices