Molecular Water Oxidation Catalysts with Dual-active Sites

With the continuous development of society, human demand for energy is constantly increasing, and the greenhouse gas emissions and global warming caused by the use of fossil fuels are becoming extremely serious. Therefore, developing low-carbon emission renewable energy is crucial. Hydrogen energy is considered one of the green energy sources, but currently the efficiency of water electrolysis for hydrogen production is not high, especially in the design and optimization of catalysts, which need further research. This review focuses on the current dual site catalytic strategies in water splitting catalysis. By comparing and analyzing the latest research progress, it explores the application of dual site catalysts with ruthenium, copper, iron, and cobalt as the core in water oxidation reactions. In particular, the article emphasizes methods to improve catalytic performance by changing ligands and doping heterogeneous elements, designing hetero nuclear and multi nuclear metals, and other strategies. Research has found that the multi-site synergistic effect of dual site catalysts reveals O-O bond formation mechanisms beyond the classical WNA and I2M pathways, which helps to understand the catalytic processes in natural photosynthesis. This article not only provides a new perspective for the design of homogeneous water oxidation catalysts, but also lays the foundation for the development of heterogeneous catalysts that can be applied in industry. The research conclusion indicates that this strategy can play a similar role in improving other energy related catalytic applications such as oxygen reduction and carbon dioxide reduction, and has broad practical application value.