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Solar Fuels: A Themed Issue in Honor of Professor Harry B. Gray on the Occasion of His 85th Birthday

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Photochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 March 2021) | Viewed by 7897

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Rowland Institute at Harvard, 100 Edwin H. Land Blvd., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
Interests: catalysis; solar fuels; electrochemistry; materials synthesis; heterogeneous catalysis; electrosynthesis

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Guest Editor
Occidental College, 1600 Campus Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90041, USA
Interests: electrochemistry; bioelectrochemistry; bioinorganic chemistry; homogeneous catalysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The enduring impact of Harry B. Gray on the field of inorganic chemistry is remarkable. On the occasion of his 85th birthday, we are delighted to announce that Molecules will compile and dedicate a special issue celebrating Harry—not only for changing the course of science through his research, but for having significantly touched the lives of countless students, colleagues, and friends.

In Copenhagen in 1960, Harry began revolutionizing the study of the electronic structure of small molecules, and his pioneering work in the development of “bioinorganic chemistry” has transformed our understanding of electron flow in biological systems—literally the currents of life. Simply put, his expertise and insight span orders of magnitude in length, time, and complexity.

His students will affirm that equal to this extraordinary scientific accomplishment is his dedication to education and mentorship. Of the 300+ students and postdoctoral scholars that Harry has mentored over the past half-century, more than 130 hold academic faculty positions, and 6 have become university presidents. The gracious warmth and enthusiasm he exudes in his interactions with students are legendary; we proudly call ourselves the “Gray Nation”.

While Harry’s academic footprint may be large, he has made it a priority to ensure that his carbon footprint is small. As former director of the National Science Foundation’s Center for Chemical Innovation: Solar Fuels, he is the Commander-in-Chief of the Solar Army, a group of thousands of high school, college, and graduate students working collectively to identify new, robust catalysts capable of splitting water to hydrogen and oxygen. As we work to solve the energy-related challenges that face our generation, Harry gave us hope, confidence, and marching orders that the problem can, and must, be solved.

To properly celebrate this milestone, we invite the young investigators of the Gray Nation to submit original contributions related to the theme of Solar Fuels. Please join us in sharing our independent accomplishments with Harry, made possible by his generosity and dedication.

Dr. Bryan Hunter
Prof. Michael Hill
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Solar fuels
  • Catalysis
  • Electrocatalysis
  • Solar Army
  • Photocatalysis
  • Splitting water
  • Water oxidation
  • Proton reduction

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2739 KiB  
Article
4,5-Diazafluorene and 9,9’-Dimethyl-4,5-Diazafluorene as Ligands Supporting Redox-Active Mn and Ru Complexes
by Wade C. Henke, Julie A. Hopkins, Micah L. Anderson, Jonah P. Stiel, Victor W. Day and James D. Blakemore
Molecules 2020, 25(14), 3189; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25143189 - 13 Jul 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4188
Abstract
4,5-diazafluorene (daf) and 9,9’-dimethyl-4,5-diazafluorene (Me2daf) are structurally similar to the important ligand 2,2’-bipyridine (bpy), but significantly less is known about the redox and spectroscopic properties of metal complexes containing Me2daf as a ligand than those containing bpy. New complexes [...] Read more.
4,5-diazafluorene (daf) and 9,9’-dimethyl-4,5-diazafluorene (Me2daf) are structurally similar to the important ligand 2,2’-bipyridine (bpy), but significantly less is known about the redox and spectroscopic properties of metal complexes containing Me2daf as a ligand than those containing bpy. New complexes Mn(CO)3Br(daf) (2), Mn(CO)3Br(Me2daf) (3), and [Ru(Me2daf)3](PF6)2 (5) have been prepared and fully characterized to understand the influence of the Me2daf framework on their chemical and electrochemical properties. Structural data for 2, 3, and 5 from single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveal a distinctive widening of the daf and Me2daf chelate angles in comparison to the analogous Mn(CO)3(bpy)Br (1) and [Ru(bpy)3]2+ (4) complexes. Electronic absorption data for these complexes confirm the electronic similarity of daf, Me2daf, and bpy, as spectra are dominated in each case by metal-to-ligand charge transfer bands in the visible region. However, the electrochemical properties of 2, 3, and 5 reveal that the redox-active Me2daf framework in 3 and 5 undergoes reduction at a slightly more negative potential than that of bpy in 1 and 4. Taken together, the results indicate that Me2daf could be useful for preparation of a variety of new redox-active compounds, as it retains the useful redox-active nature of bpy but lacks the acidic, benzylic C–H bonds that can induce secondary reactivity in complexes bearing daf. Full article
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14 pages, 4041 KiB  
Article
Assembly and Redox-Rich Hydride Chemistry of an Asymmetric Mo2S2 Platform
by Alex McSkimming, Jordan W. Taylor and W. Hill Harman
Molecules 2020, 25(13), 3090; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25133090 - 7 Jul 2020
Viewed by 3030
Abstract
Although molybdenum sulfide materials show promise as electrocatalysts for proton reduction, the hydrido species proposed as intermediates remain poorly characterized. We report herein the synthesis, reactions and spectroscopic properties of a molybdenum-hydride complex featuring an asymmetric Mo2S2 core. This molecule [...] Read more.
Although molybdenum sulfide materials show promise as electrocatalysts for proton reduction, the hydrido species proposed as intermediates remain poorly characterized. We report herein the synthesis, reactions and spectroscopic properties of a molybdenum-hydride complex featuring an asymmetric Mo2S2 core. This molecule displays rich redox chemistry with electrochemical couples at E½ = −0.45, −0.78 and −1.99 V vs. Fc/Fc+. The corresponding hydrido-complexes for all three redox levels were isolated and characterized crystallographically. Through an analysis of solid-state bond metrics and DFT calculations, we show that the electron-transfer processes for the two more positive couples are centered predominantly on the pyridinediimine supporting ligand, whereas for the most negative couple electron-transfer is mostly Mo-localized. Full article
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