| 1. |
- Abdi, Zahra, et al.
(författare)
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In Situ Synthesis of Manganese Oxide as an Oxygen-Evolving Catalyst : A New Strategy
- 2021
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Ingår i: Chemistry - A European Journal. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0947-6539 .- 1521-3765. ; 27:4, s. 1330-1336
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- All studies on oxygen-evolution reaction by Mn oxides in the presence of cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate (CAN) have been so far carried out by synthesizing Mn oxides in the first step. And then, followed by the investigation of the Mn oxides in the presence of oxidants for oxygen-evolution reaction (OER). This paper presents a case study of a new and promising strategy for in situ catalyst synthesis by the adding Mn-II to either CAN or KMnO4/CAN solution, resulting in the formation of Mn-based catalysts for OER. The catalysts were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Both compounds contained nano-sized particles that catalyzed OER in the presence of CAN. The turnover frequencies for both catalysts were 0.02 (mmolO2 /mol(Mn).
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| 2. |
- Abrashev, Miroslav V., et al.
(författare)
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Origin of the heat-induced improvement of catalytic activity and stability of MnOx electrocatalysts for water oxidation
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Materials Chemistry A. - : ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY. - 2050-7488 .- 2050-7496. ; 7:28, s. 17022-17036
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Catalysis of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) by earth-abundant materials in the near-neutral pH regime is of great interest as it is the key reaction for non-fossil fuel production. To address the pertinent stability problems and insufficiently understood structure-activity relations, we investigate the influence of moderate annealing (100-300 degrees C for 20 min) for two types of electrodeposited Mn oxide films with contrasting properties. Upon annealing, the originally inactive and structurally well-ordered Oxide 1 of birnessite type became as OER active as the non-heated Oxide 2, which has a highly disordered atomic structure. Oxide 2 also improved its activity upon heating, but more important is the stability improvement: the operation time increased by about two orders of magnitude (in 0.1 M KPi at pH 7). Aiming at atomistic understanding, electrochemical methods including quantitative analysis of impedance spectra, X-ray spectroscopy (XANES and EXAFS), and adapted optical spectroscopies (infrared, UV-vis and Raman) identified structure-reactivity relations. Oxide structures featuring both di-mu-oxo bridged Mn ions and (close to) linear mono-mu-oxo Mn3+-O-Mn4+ connectivity seem to be a prerequisite for OER activity. The latter motif likely stabilizes Mn3+ ions at higher potentials and promotes electron/hole hopping, a feature related to electrical conductivity and reflected in the strongly accelerated rates of Mn oxidation and O-2 formation. Poor charge mobility, which may result from a low level of Mn3+ ions at high potentials, likely promotes inactivation after prolonged operation. Oxide structures related to the perovskite-like zeta-Mn2O3 were formed after the heating of Oxide 2 and could favour stabilization of Mn ions in oxidation states lower than +4. This rare phase was previously found only at high pressure (20 GPa) and temperature (1200 degrees C) and this is the first report where it was stable under ambient conditions.
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| 3. |
- Behrouzi, Leila, et al.
(författare)
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Electrochemical alcohols oxidation mediated by N-hydroxyphthalimide on nickel foam surface
- 2020
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 10:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Alcohol to aldehyde conversion is a critical reaction in the industry. Herein, a new electrochemical method is introduced that converts 1 mmol of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones in the presence of N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI, 20 mol%) as a mediator; this conversion is achieved after 8.5 h at room temperature using a piece of Ni foam (1.0 cm2) and without adding an extra-base or a need for high temperature. Using this method, 10 mmol (1.08 g) of benzyl alcohol was also successfully oxidized to benzaldehyde (91%) without any by-products. This method was also used to oxidize other alcohols with high yield and selectivity. In the absence of a mediator, the surface of the nickel foam provided oxidation products at the lower yield. After the reaction was complete, nickel foam (anode) was characterized by a combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and spectroelectrochemistry, which pointed to the formation of nickel oxide on the surface of the electrode. On the other hand, using other electrodes such as Pt, Cu, Fe, and graphite resulted in a low yield for the alcohol to aldehyde conversion.
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| 4. |
- Chernev, Petko, et al.
(författare)
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Light-driven formation of manganese oxide by today's photosystem II supports evolutionarily ancient manganese-oxidizing photosynthesis
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Water oxidation and concomitant dioxygen formation by the manganese-calcium cluster of oxygenic photosynthesis has shaped the biosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere. It has been hypothesized that at an early stage of evolution, before photosynthetic water oxidation became prominent, light-driven formation of manganese oxides from dissolved Mn(2+) ions may have played a key role in bioenergetics and possibly facilitated early geological manganese deposits. Here we report the biochemical evidence for the ability of photosystems to form extended manganese oxide particles. The photochemical redox processes in spinach photosystem-II particles devoid of the manganese-calcium cluster are tracked by visible-light and X-ray spectroscopy. Oxidation of dissolved manganese ions results in high-valent Mn(III, IV)-oxide nanoparticles of the birnessite type bound to photosystem II, with 50-100 manganese ions per photosystem. Having shown that even today's photosystem II can form birnessite-type oxide particles efficiently, we propose an evolutionary scenario, which involves manganese-oxide production by ancestral photosystems, later followed by downsizing of protein-bound manganese-oxide nanoparticles to finally yield today's catalyst of photosynthetic water oxidation.
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| 5. |
- D'Amario, Luca, et al.
(författare)
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Towards time resolved characterization of electrochemical reactions : electrochemically-induced Raman spectroscopy
- 2022
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Ingår i: Chemical Science. - : RSC Publishing. - 2041-6520 .- 2041-6539. ; 13:36, s. 10734-10742
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Structural characterization of transient electrochemical species in the sub-millisecond time scale is the all-time wish of any electrochemist. Presently, common time resolution of structural spectro-electrochemical methods is about 0.1 seconds. Herein, a transient spectro-electrochemical Raman setup of easy implementation is described which allows sub-ms time resolution. The technique studies electrochemical processes by initiating the reaction with an electric potential (or current) pulse and analyses the product with a synchronized laser pulse of the modified Raman spectrometer. The approach was validated by studying a known redox driven isomerization of a Ru-based molecular switch grafted, as monolayer, on a SERS active Au microelectrode. Density-functional-theory calculations confirmed the spectral assignments to sub-ms transient species. This study paves the way to a new generation of time-resolved spectro-electrochemical techniques which will be of fundamental help in the development of next generation electrolizers, fuel cells and batteries.
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| 6. |
- Dau, Holger, et al.
(författare)
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Three overlooked photosynthesis papers of Otto Warburg (1883-1970), published in the 1940s in German and in Russian, on light-driven water oxidation coupled to benzoquinone reduction
- 2021
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Ingår i: Photosynthesis Research. - : Springer. - 0166-8595 .- 1573-5079. ; 149:3, s. 259-264
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- After a brief background on Otto Heinrich Warburg (1883–1970), and some of his selected research, we provide highlights, in English, of three of his papers in the 1940s—unknown to many as they were not originally published in English. They are: two brief reports on Photosynthesis, with Wilhelm Lüttgens, originally published in German, in 1944: ‘Experiment on assimilation of carbonic acid’; and ‘Further experiments on carbon dioxide assimilation’. This is followed by a regular paper, originally published in Russian, in 1946: ‘The photochemical reduction of quinone in green granules’. Since the 1944 reports discussed here are very short, their translations are included in the Appendix, but that of the 1946 paper is provided in the Supplementary Material. In all three reports, Warburg provides the first evidence for and elaborates on light-driven water oxidation coupled to reduction of added benzoquinone. These largely overlooked studies of Warburg are in stark contrast to Warburg’s well-known error in assigning the origin of the photosynthetically formed dioxygen to carbonate.
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| 7. |
- de Lichtenberg, Casper, 1989-
(författare)
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Time-resolved Structural and Mechanistic Studies of Water Oxidation in Photosystem II : water here, water there, water everywhere
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Oxygenic photosynthesis is undisputedly one of the most important chemical processes for human life on earth as it not only fills the atmosphere with the oxygen that we need to breathe, but also sustains the accumulation of biomass, which is not only used as nourishment but is also present in almost every aspect of our lives as building material, textiles in clothes and furniture, or even as living decorations to name a few.The photosynthetic water-splitting mechanism is catalyzed by a water:plastoquinone oxido-reductase by the name of photosystem II (PSII), which is embedded in the thylakoid membranes of plants, algae and cyanobacteria. As it is excited by light, charge separation occurs in the reaction center of the protein and an electron is extracted by oxidation of Mn4Ca-cluster, that constitutes the active site for the water splitting reaction in PSII. When the Mn4Ca-cluster has been oxidized 4 times, it forms an oxygen-oxygen bond between two water derived ligands bound to the Mn4Ca-cluster and returns to the lowest oxidation state of the catalytic cycle. Understanding what ligands of the cluster that are used in the water splitting reaction is the key to unlocking the underlying chemical mechanism.In this thesis I describe investigations, with room temperature X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) on PSII microcrystals, of how the active site looks in all the stable intermediate oxidation states. Furthermore I describe how we uncovered the sequence of events that lead to insertion of an additional water ligand in the S2-S3 state transition of the catalytic cycle.Furthermore, through time-resolved membrane-inlet mass spectrometry (TR-MIMS) measurements of the isotopic equilibration of the substrate waters with the bulk in conditions that induce different electron magnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopic signatures, I present evidence that the exchange of the slowly exchanging substrate water Ws is controlled by a dynamic equilibrium between conformations in the S2-state that give rise to either the low-spin multiline (LS-ML) signal or the high-spin (HS) signal. Based on the crystal structures and litterature suggestions for the conformation of the HS state different scenarios were presented for the assignment of Ws and how it exchanges. This analysis is discussed in the context of all semi-stable intermediate oxidation states in the Kok cycle.To further the understanding of this equilibrium, I also studied a selection of mutants positioned at strategic places in the vicinity of the different proposed substrates and at points that were suggested to be critical for substrate entry. With the combination of TR-MIMS and EPR, I reached the conclusion that by mutating valine 185 to asparagine, the water bound A-type conformation was stabilized, meanwhile in the mutant where aspartate 61 was mutated to alanine I observed that the barrier of the equilibrium between the exchanging conformations was so high that the interchange between them was arrested at room temperature. Additionally the retardation of the substrate exchange rates in the S3-states fit best with D61 being in the vicinity of the fast exchanging water. With this information we found the data best explained in a scenario where the water insertion of the S2-S3 transition was determining the if O-O bond formation occurred between the waters that were W2 and W3 or W2 and O5 in the S2 state. In addition, by mutation of glutamate 189 to glutamine that this residue is not important for the exchange of substrate waters in the S2 or the S3 states.Finally I use a combination of substrate labelling with TR-MIMS and time resolved labelling of the waters that ligate the Mn4Ca-cluster to show that the briding oxygen O5 is exchanging with a near identical rate to Ws, further supporting the assignment that Ws=O5.In conclusion, O-O bond formation most likely occurs between W2 (Wf) and O5 (Ws) via an oxo-oxyl radical coupling mechanism. The newly inserted water thus represents the slow exchanging water of the following S-state cycle.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Görlin, Mikaela, et al.
(författare)
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Formation of unexpectedly active Ni-Fe oxygen evolution electrocatalysts by physically mixing Ni and Fe oxyhydroxides
- 2019
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Ingår i: Chemical Communications. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1359-7345 .- 1364-548X. ; 55:6, s. 818-821
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present an unusual, yet facile, strategy towards formation of physically mixed Ni-Fe(OxHy) oxygen evolution electrocatalysts. We use in situ X-ray absorption and UV-vis spectroscopy, and high-resolution imaging to demonstrate that physical contact between two inferior Ni(OH)(2) and Fe(OOH) catalysts self-assemble into atomically intermixed Ni-Fe catalysts with unexpectedly high activity.
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| 10. |
- Havelius, Kajsa G.V. 1977-
(författare)
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EPR Studies of Photosystem II : Characterizing Water Oxidizing Intermediates at Cryogenic Temperatures
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The principles of natures own light-driven water splitting catalyst, Photosystem II (PSII), can in the future inspire us to use water as electron and proton source to generate light-driven H2 production. To mimic this challenging step, it is important to understand how the enzyme system can oxidize water. The mechanism of light-driven water oxidation in PSII is in this thesis addressed by EPR spectroscopy. P680+ is a strong oxidant formed by light-oxidation of the chlorophyll species P680 positioned in the center of PSII. The redox active tyrosine-Z (YZ) can reduce P680+ and the YZ• radical is formed. This transient radical is further reduced by the CaMn4-cluster, which is the binding site of the substrate water molecules. In a cyclic process called the S-cycle, this catalytic cluster accumulates four oxidizing equivalents to evolve one molecule of O2 and to oxidize two molecules of water. We can induce the YZ• radical at cryogenic temperatures in the different oxidation states of the catalytic S-cycle and observe this in metalloradical EPR signals. These metalloradical EPR signals are here characterized and used to deduce mechanistic information from the intact PSII. The "double nature" of these spin-spin interaction signals, so called split EPR signals, makes them excellent probes to both YZ oxidation and, when YZ• is present, also to the S-states of the CaMn4-cluster. The metalloradical EPR signals presented here, form a way to study the transient YZ• radical in active PSII that has not been depleted of the catalytic metal cluster. This depleting method that has often been used in the past to study YZ is not representing studies of a mechanistically relevant material. The previously suggested disorder around YZ and accessibility to the bulk can be artifactual properties induced in the mechanistically defect PSII. On the contrary, our observation that proton coupled electron transfer from YZ to the light induced P680+ can occur in a high yield at cryogenic temperatures, suggests a well ordered catalytic site in the protein positioned for optimal performance. The optimized positioning of the redox components found in PSII might be a feature also important to build in an efficient water oxidizing catalyst.
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