Direct Comparisons of Oxygen Electro-Reduction across Molecular and Extended Oxides

Our work is focused on understanding hydrogen transfer in redox-active metal oxides as candidates for next-generation catalytic architectures, using oxygen electro-reduction as a model reaction. We are specifically studying the interrelationships between hydrogen transfer electrocatalysis across what we term the “molecules-to-materials design continuum” by directly comparing electrochemical properties of molecular tungsten-based polyoxometalates (polyoxotungstates) and extended tungsten oxides. The goal of this study was to critically compare trends of activity and selectivity towards the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction using a series of three catalyst composites derived from molecular polyoxotungstates: (1) the intact molecule adsorbed on a conductive carbon support; (2) the same composite after thermal decomposition of the molecule to bulk WO3; and (3) an intermediate state comprising the partially decomposed molecule. Catalyst composites were synthesized by wet impregnation of the polyoxotungstate (TBA)4W10O32 (TBA = tetrabutylammonium) from acetonitrile on Vulcan carbon, targeting catalyst loadings that yield well-dispersed molecular units. We then used thermal treatments over a range of temperatures associated with progressive thermal decomposition to the intermediate and fully decomposed states. Thermal decomposition reactions and products were further characterized using thermogravimetric analysis and in-situ powder X-ray diffraction. Electrocatalytic measurements were made using standard analytical protocols comprising rotating-disk electrode voltammetry of carbon-supported catalysts deposited as thin films on glassy carbon substrates. On thermal treatment, we observed that the polyoxotungstate loses stabilizing counterions with progressive rearrangement into disordered clusters and ultimately crystalline nanoparticles of orthorhombic WO3. Each of these various forms exhibit broadly similar reactivity towards the oxygen reduction reaction. Electroanalytical results suggest all three tungsten-based composites are poor oxygen reduction catalysts with activities comparable to that of the carbon support. Nonetheless, Levich analysis suggests high selectivity for 2-electron conversion to H2O2 and catalytic onsets that correlate well with distinct voltametric features corresponding to H-activation and, in the case of extended oxides, bulk proton insertion. Ongoing work is focused on extending these studies toward more tractable hydrogen transfer reactions and identifying alternative catalysts with more thermodynamically accessible mechanisms for H activation. More broadly, we hypothesize that these types of apples-to-apples comparisons between molecular and extended catalysts will reveal vital information about the impact of active site composition and electronic structure on H-transfer catalysis.