(Invited) Recent Advances in Electrocatalysis of Oxygen Reduction Using Metallo-Corroles

In recent years we have been exploring a relatively new and exciting family of transition metal complexes as catalysts for oxygen reduction. We used advanced synthesis techniques in order to change the parameters that may influence their catalytic activity: the metal center, the substituents in their meso-position and the substituents in their beta-position, as well as the effect of their interaction with different carbonaceous supports. In this talk we will summarize this work and give a clear direction and insight into the design and utilization of this class of catalysts, and will show some of the best performing, non-pyrolyzed, molecular catalysts for oxygen reduction to-date. We will show that the metal center has great affect over the ORR electrocatlysis, and that it changes in the order of Co > Fe > Ni > Mn > Cu, this effect will be rationalized using molecular modeling performed by us. In addition, we studied the effect of electron-withdrawing substituents on different position and we will show that although there is some effect on glassy carbon electrodes, once the corroles are incorporated in high surface area carbon (BP2000), this effect vanishes. We will also share some of our latest results on 3D structures of these molecular complexes and the cooperative effect, which raises their electrocatalytic performance when compared to a single molecule.