Water Oxidation Catalyzed by Strong Carbene‐Type Donor‐Ligand Complexes of Iridium

Think oxygen: Iridium(III) complexes containing an unusually bound chelating triazolylidene ligand (see picture) show excellent activity towards water oxidation, producing hundreds of milliliters or O2 per milligram of iridium. The active catalysts include either an ylide or an unusually bound pyridylidene as the chelating L group and are readily accessible by click chemistry.