Borate Buffer as a Key Player in Cu-Based Homogeneous Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation.

Borate buffer was found to have both structural and functional roles within a low-cost tri-copper electrocatalyst for homogeneous water oxidation that exhibits a high turnover frequency of 310 s -1 . The borate buffer was shown to facilitate the catalytic activity by both bridging the three Cu ions and participating in O-O bond formation. Phosphate and acetate buffers did not show such roles, making borate a unique player in this catalytic system.