Oxygen reduction catalyzed by a water-soluble binuclear copper(ii) complex from a neutral aqueous solution

Abstract

A water-soluble binuclear Cu^II complex, synthesized using a polypyridine–polyamide ligand, was able to catalyze oxygen reduction to water from neutral aqueous solutions. Electrocatalytic results suggested that one Cu^II center was first reduced by one electron to form a Cu^IICu^I species, which reacted with O₂ to give a superoxide radical intermediate.