Nickel(ii) complexes with 14-membered bis-thiosemicarbazide and bis-isothiosemicarbazide ligands: synthesis, characterization and catalysis of oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

Design and development of novel, low-cost and efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media is crucial for lowering the reaction overpotential and thus decreasing the energy input during the water electrolysis process. Herein, we present the synthesis of new 14-membered bis-thiosemicarbazide and bis-isothiosemicarbazide macrocycles and their nickel(II) complexes characterized by spectroscopic techniques (¹H and ¹³C NMR, IR, UV–vis), electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, single crystal X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and cyclic voltammetry. Finally, the activity of nickel(II) complexes towards OER is reported. Ni^IIL^SEt delivered a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² at the lowest overpotential of 350 mV with the lowest Tafel slope of 93 mV dec⁻¹. The high performance of Ni^IIL^SEt might be attributed to its high surface area and thus abundant active sites with the observed low charge-transfer resistance enabling the effective current flow through the electrocatalyst. Square-planar coordination geometry and increment in Ni oxidation state are believed to favor its OER performance. Beside high activity towards OER, Ni^IIL^SEt demonstrated excellent long-term stability with continuous operation, advocating its possible application in commercial systems.