@article{KirchnerSchrammIvanovaetal.2024,
  author    = {Kirchner, Philipp H. and Schramm, Louis and Ivanova, Svetlana and Shoyama, Kazutaka and W{\"u}rthner, Frank and Beuerle, Florian},
  title     = {A water-stable boronate ester cage},
  series = {Journal of the American Chemical Society},
  volume    = {146},
  journal   = {Journal of the American Chemical Society},
  number    = {8},
  issn      = {0002-7863},
  doi       = {10.1021/jacs.3c12002},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-361245},
  pages     = {5305-5315},
  year      = {2024},
  abstract  = {The reversible condensation of catechols and boronic acids to boronate esters is a paradigm reaction in dynamic covalent chemistry. However, facile backward hydrolysis is detrimental for stability and has so far prevented applications for boronate-based materials. Here, we introduce cubic boronate ester cages 6 derived from hexahydroxy tribenzotriquinacenes and phenylene diboronic acids with ortho-t-butyl substituents. Due to steric shielding, dynamic exchange at the Lewis acidic boron sites is feasible only under acid or base catalysis but fully prevented at neutral conditions. For the first time, boronate ester cages 6 tolerate substantial amounts of water or alcohols both in solution and solid state. The unprecedented applicability of these materials under ambient and aqueous conditions is showcased by efficient encapsulation and on-demand release of β-carotene dyes and heterogeneous water oxidation catalysis after the encapsulation of ruthenium catalysts.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{SchneiderSeebauerBeuerleetal.2024,
  author    = {Schneider, Tilman and Seebauer, Florian and Beuerle, Florian and W{\"u}rthner, Frank},
  title     = {A monodisperse, end-capped Ru(bda) oligomer with outstanding performance in heterogeneous electrochemical water oxidation},
  series = {Advanced Materials Technologies},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {Advanced Materials Technologies},
  number    = {11},
  issn      = {2365-709X},
  doi       = {10.1002/admt.202301721},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-363133},
  year      = {2024},
  abstract  = {AbstractWater oxidation catalysis is a key step for sustainable fuel production by water splitting into hydrogen and oxygen. The synthesis of a novel coordination oligomer based on four Ru(bda) (bda = 2,2′-bipyridine-6,6′-dicarboxylate) centers, three 4,4′-bipyridine (4,4′-bpy) linkers, and two 4-picoline (4-pic) end caps is reported. The monodispersity of this tetranuclear compound is characterized by NMR techniques. Heterogeneous electrochemical water oxidation after immobilization on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) shows catalytic performance unprecedented for this compound class, with a turnover frequency (TOF) of 133 s\(^{-1}\) and a turnover number (TON) of 4.89 × 10\(^6\), at a current density of 43.8 mA cm\(^{-2}\) and a potential of 1.45 V versus normal hydrogen electrode (NHE).},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{NollGrossShoyamaetal.2023,
  author    = {Noll, Niklas and Groß, Tobias and Shoyama, Kazutaka and Beuerle, Florian and W{\"u}rthner, Frank},
  title     = {Folding-Induced Promotion of Proton-Coupled Electron Transfers via Proximal Base for Light-Driven Water Oxidation},
  series = {Angewandte Chemie International Edition},
  volume    = {62},
  journal   = {Angewandte Chemie International Edition},
  number    = {7},
  doi       = {10.1002/anie.202217745},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-312020},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {Proton-coupled electron-transfer (PCET) processes play a key role in biocatalytic energy conversion and storage, for example, photosynthesis or nitrogen fixation. Here, we report a series of bipyridine-containing di- to tetranuclear Ru(bda) macrocycles 2 C-4 C (bda: 2,2′-bipyridine-6,6′-dicarboxylate) to promote O-O bond formation. In photocatalytic water oxidation under neutral conditions, all complexes 2 C-4 C prevail in a folded conformation that support the water nucleophilic attack (WNA) pathway with remarkable turnover frequencies of up to 15.5 s\(^{-1}\) per Ru unit respectively. Single-crystal X-ray analysis revealed an increased tendency for intramolecular π-π stacking and preorganization of the proximal bases close to the active centers for the larger macrocycles. H/D kinetic isotope effect studies and electrochemical data demonstrate the key role of the proximal bipyridines as proton acceptors in lowering the activation barrier for the crucial nucleophilic attack of H\(_{2}\)O in the WNA mechanism.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{NollKrauseBeuerleetal.2022,
  author    = {Noll, Niklas and Krause, Ana-Maria and Beuerle, Florian and W{\"u}rthner, Frank},
  title     = {Enzyme-like water preorganization in a synthetic molecular cleft for homogeneous water oxidation catalysis},
  series = {Nature Catalysis},
  journal   = {Nature Catalysis},
  edition   = {accepted version},
  doi       = {10.1038/s41929-022-00843-x},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-302897},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Inspired by the proficiency of natural enzymes, mimicking of nanoenvironments for precise substrate preorganisation is a promising strategy in catalyst design. However, artificial examples of enzyme-like activation of H\(_2\)O molecules for the challenging oxidative water splitting reaction are hardly explored. Here, we introduce a mononuclear Ru(bda) complex (M1, bda: 2,2'-bipyridine-6,6'-dicarboxylate) equipped with a bipyridine-functionalized ligand to preorganize H\(_2\)O molecules in front of the metal center as in enzymatic clefts. The confined pocket of M1 accelerates chemically driven water oxidation at pH 1 by facilitating a water nucleophilic attack pathway with a remarkable turnover frequency of 140 s\(^{-1}\) that is comparable to the oxygen-evolving complex of photosystem II. Single crystal X-ray analysis of M1 under catalytic conditions allowed the observation of a 7th H\(_2\)O ligand directly coordinated to a RuIII center. Via a well-defined hydrogen-bonding network, another H\(_2\)O substrate is preorganized for the crucial O-O bond formation via nucleophilic attack.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{SchlossarekStepanenkoBeuerleetal.2022,
  author    = {Schlossarek, Tim and Stepanenko, Vladimir and Beuerle, Florian and W{\"u}rthner, Frank},
  title     = {Self-assembled Ru(bda) Coordination Oligomers as Efficient Catalysts for Visible Light-Driven Water Oxidation in Pure Water},
  series = {Angewandte Chemie International Edition},
  volume    = {61},
  journal   = {Angewandte Chemie International Edition},
  number    = {52},
  doi       = {10.1002/anie.202211445},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-312184},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Water-soluble multinuclear complexes based on ruthenium 2,2′-bipyridine-6,6′-dicarboxylate (bda) and ditopic bipyridine linker units are investigated in three-component visible light-driven water oxidation catalysis. Systematic studies revealed a strong enhancement of the catalytic efficiency in the absence of organic co-solvents and with increasing oligomer length. In-depth kinetic and morphological investigations suggest that the enhanced performance is induced by the self-assembly of linear Ru(bda) oligomers into aggregated superstructures. The obtained turnover frequencies (up to 14.9 s\(^{-1}\)) and turnover numbers (more than 1000) per ruthenium center are the highest reported so far for Ru(bda)-based photocatalytic water oxidation systems.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KarakStepanenkoAddicoatetal.2022,
  author    = {Karak, Suvendu and Stepanenko, Vladimir and Addicoat, Matthew A. and Keßler, Philipp and Moser, Simon and Beuerle, Florian and W{\"u}rthner, Frank},
  title     = {A Covalent Organic Framework for Cooperative Water Oxidation},
  series = {Journal of the American Chemical Society},
  volume    = {144},
  journal   = {Journal of the American Chemical Society},
  number    = {38},
  issn      = {0002-7863},
  doi       = {10.1021/jacs.2c07282},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-287591},
  pages     = {17661-17670},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {The future of water-derived hydrogen as the "sustainable energy source" straightaway bets on the success of the sluggish oxygen-generating half-reaction. The endeavor to emulate the natural photosystem II for efficient water oxidation has been extended across the spectrum of organic and inorganic combinations. However, the achievement has so far been restricted to homogeneous catalysts rather than their pristine heterogeneous forms. The poor structural understanding and control over the mechanistic pathway often impede the overall development. Herein, we have synthesized a highly crystalline covalent organic framework (COF) for chemical and photochemical water oxidation. The interpenetrated structure assures the catalyst stability, as the catalyst's performance remains unaltered after several cycles. This COF exhibits the highest ever accomplished catalytic activity for such an organometallic crystalline solid-state material where the rate of oxygen evolution is as high as ∼26,000 μmol L\(^{-1}\) s\(^{-1}\) (second-order rate constant k ≈ 1650 μmol L s\(^{-1}\) g\(^{-2}\)). The catalyst also proves its exceptional activity (k ≈ 1600 μmol L s\(^{-1}\) g\(^{-2}\)) during light-driven water oxidation under very dilute conditions. The cooperative interaction between metal centers in the crystalline network offers 20-30-fold superior activity during chemical as well as photocatalytic water oxidation as compared to its amorphous polymeric counterpart.},
  language  = {en}
}