In situ XAS and VtC-XES Studies of Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation Mechanisms in Dimeric Copper(pyalc) Complexes

In situ XAS and VtC-XES experiments will be performed under electrocatalytic conditions for a dimeric copper-pyalc complex to unravel the mechanistic pathways of the Cu-complex for efficient water oxidation. This proposal aims to provide for the first time experimental understanding into the electrochemically generated in situ active catalytic species for water oxidation in a dinuclear Cu(pyalc) complex under real operando conditions. To this end, we propose the realization of in situ HERFD-XANES, EXAFS, VtC-XES experiments on our newly discovered Cu(pyalc) complex under bulk electrolysis condition. This study offers an excellent opportunity to directly monitor surface structure-transformations, evolution of the local-coordination, metal ligand interactions, changes in the electronic states and Cu valence state. These results will offer new insight into the mechanistic pathways in dimeric Cu-complexes for the design of efficient water oxidation catalysts.