Homogeneous electrocatalytic water oxidation at neutral pH by a robust macrocyclic nickel(II) complex.

The development of an earth-abundant, first-row water oxidation catalyst that operates at neutral pH and low overpotential remains a fundamental chemical challenge. Herein, we report the first nickel-based robust homogeneous water oxidation catalyst, which can electrocatalyze water oxidation at neutral pH and low overpotential in phosphate buffer. The results of DFT calculations verify that the O-O bond formation in catalytic water oxidation prefers a HO-OH coupling mechanism from a cis-isomer of the catalyst.