First application of Sn (IV) corrole as electrocatalyst in hydrogen evolution reaction.

Tin corrole complexes were firstly used as electrocatalyst in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and found excellent electrocatalytic HER activity in both organic and aqueous phase. [Display omitted] • This work presents the first example of using tin corrole complexes as the electrocatalyst in HER. • Four tin corrole complexes showed excellent electrocatalytic HER activity and complex (3) exhibit the best HER performance in organic media. • Electrochemical testing showed that the HER may undergo E-ECEC pathway whether using strong acid or weak acid as proton source in organic media. In this paper, four post-transition metal tin corrole complexes bearing different numbers of cyano-substituents (1, 2, 3, 4) had been synthesized and characterized. In which tin corroles Sn-CDPC (1) and Sn-PBCC (2) are new compounds. Among four prepared tin corroles, Sn-TCPC complex (3) exhibits the best electrocatalytic HER performance in organic phase. Its i cat /i p and the turnover frequency (TOF) reaches 13.12 and 25.6 h−1 in DMF when using trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) as the proton source. The TOF of Sn-CDPC complex (1) in acetonitrile/water (V/V = 2/3) neutral water system is the highest (474.3 h−1) and may produce 4.7 mL H 2 with in 1 h of electrolysis. Electrochemical testing showed that the HER undergoes E-ECEC pathway whether using strong acid or weak acid as a proton source in organic media. This work presents the first example of using tin corroles as the electrocatalyst in HER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]