Comparison of two water oxidation electrocatalysts by copper or zinc supermolecule complexes based on porphyrin ligand.

Based on the 5,10,15,20-tetra(cyanophenyl)porphyrin (CNTCPP) ligand, two supermolecule complexes formulated as [Cu(CNTCPP)]·2DMF (Cu-CNTCPP) and [Zn(CNTCPP)] (Zn-CNTCPP) have been synthesized and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Cu-CNTCPP features a 0 dimensional (0D) supramoleculer structure, whereas Zn-CNTCPP is a 2D structure. With coordination unsaturated points, Cu-CNTCPP exhibits electrocatalytic activity toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with low potential in 1.0 M KOH, generating a current density of 10 mA cm -2 at an potential of 1.66 V vs. RHE, which means it an efficient electrocatalytic material for OER.