Covalent attachment of catalyst molecules to conductive diamond: CO2 reduction using "smart" electrodes

J Am Chem Soc. 2012 Sep 26;134(38):15632-5. doi: 10.1021/ja304783j. Epub 2012 Sep 13.

Abstract

We report here covalent attachment of a catalytically active cobalt complex onto boron-doped, p-type conductive diamond. Peripheral acetylene groups were appended on a cobalt porphyrin complex, and azide-alkyne cycloaddition was used for covalent linking to a diamond surface decorated with alkyl azides. The functionalized surface was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform IR spectroscopy, and the catalytic activity was characterized using cyclic voltammetry and FTIR. The catalyst-modified diamond surfaces were used as "smart" electrodes exhibiting good stability and electrocatalytic activity for electrochemical reduction of CO(2) to CO in acetonitrile solution.