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Chemical Sustainability Research Theme Seminar

20 October 2021, 2:00 pm–3:00 pm

Dr Carole Duboc, Universite Grenoble Alpes

Event Information

Open to

UCL staff | UCL students

Availability

Yes

Organiser

Katherine Holt

Location

Virtual
20 Gordon St
London
WC1H 0AJ

Nature: an inspiration for the design of efficient electrocatalysts for H2 production and CO2 reduction

Hydrogen production through water splitting appears to be the best solution in the long run for the storage of renewable energies. Hydrogenases are organometallic enzymes containing iron and/or nickel metal centers, whose catalytic performances rival that of platinum for hydrogen evolution. Their fascinating properties make them the ideal inspiration for the design of new molecular catalysts for technological devices. Under electrocatalytic conditions, the bio-inspired NiFe catalysts that we have developed display high turnover frequency for H2 evolution from mildly acidic solutions. Its reactivity has been recently compared with the parent FeFe complex, an interesting model of the FeFe hydrogenase.4 Besides, we have recently shown that, inspired by the CO dehydrogenase, the same NiFe complex can also reduce CO2 selectively with CH4 as the only C-based product.

Seminar Duboc

References

1- D. Brazzolotto, M. Gennari, N. Queyriaux, T. R. Simmons, J. Pécaut, S. Demeshko, F. Meyer, M. Orio, V. Artero, C. Duboc Nature Chem. 2016, 8, 1054–1060.

2- Ahmed, M. E.; Chattopadhyay, S.; Wang, L. K.; Brazzolotto, D.; Pramanik, D.; Aldakov, D.; Fize, J.; Morozan, A.; Gennari, M.; Duboc, C.; Dey, A.; Artero, V., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 16001-16004.

3- Wang L., Gennari M., Barrozo A., Fize J., Philouze C., Demeshko S., Meyer F., Orio M., Artero V., Duboc C. ACS Catal. 2020, 10, 177–186.

4- Ahmed, M. E.; Saha, D.; Wang, L.; Gennari, M.; Ghosh Dey, S.; Artero, V.; Dey, A.; Duboc, C., ChemElectroChem 2021, 8, 1674-1677.

5- Ahmed, M. E.; Adam, S.; Saha, D.; Fize, J.; Artero, V.; Dey, A.; Duboc, C., ACS Energy Letters 2020, 5, 3837-3842.

 

About the Speaker

Carol Duboc

at Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France

The research interests of Carole Duboc were always turned to two different scientific axes: the elucidation of the magnetic properties of metal complexes through an approach combining spectroscopic techniques and theoretical chemistry, and the design of bio-inspired complexes containing metal-sulfur bond(s) to develop structural and/or functional models of metalloenzymes. More specifically, the goals of her current projects concern the development of efficient systems for redox catalysis involving multi-electron reactions, with a special focus on complexes capable of reproducing certain vital reactivity of the living world with a major interest in the field of energy. Several specific reactions or processes are targeted: selective reduction of oxygen in water or hydrogen peroxide, reduction of protons in hydrogen, and activation & valorization of CO2.