Promotive Effect of Bicarbonate Ion on Two‐Electron Water Oxidation to Form H2O2 Catalyzed by Aluminum Porphyrins

Two-electron water oxidation initiated by one-electron oxidation of aluminum porphyrins (AlTMPyP) is an alternative water oxidation to the conventional four-electron pathway and could help to avoid the bottleneck subject of photon-flux density in artificial photosynthesis. Here, a dramatic enhancement of the reactivity by bicarbonate ion in the two-electron water oxidation to form H2 O2 is reported. An addition of sodium carbonate (Na2 CO3 ) controlled both catalytic current and product selectivity of the two-electron water oxidation to enhance the activity of AlTMPyP at pH≈10-11. Controlled potential electrolysis experiments at different concentrations of Na2 CO3 (10-100 mm) showed that peroxide selectivity was improved up to approximately 73 % by the increase of [Na2 CO3 ] added to the system. The promotion of the reaction cycle was induced by an enhanced dynamic capturing of H2 O2 from the hydroperoxy complex of AlTMPyP through an attack of a bicarbonate ion. The detailed electrochemical studies and product selectivity indicated that the bicarbonate ion served as a good cofactor for producing H2 O2 from water. At stronger alkaline conditions (pH 12.5), however, a retardative effect of the addition of Na2 CO3 on the catalytic reactivity was observed.