Inert Layered Silicate Improves the Electrochemical Responses of a Metal Complex Polymer.

A chemically inert, insulating layered silicate (saponite; SP) and an iron(II)-based metallo-supramolecular complex polymer (polyFe) were combined via electrostatic attraction to improve the electrochromic properties of polyFe. Structural characterization indicated that polyFe was intercalated into the SP nanosheets. Interestingly, the redox potential of polyFe was lowered by combining it with SP, and the current was measurable despite the insulating nature of SP. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that the decrease in the redox potential observed in the SP-polyFe hybrid was caused by the electrostatic neutralization of the Fe cation in polyFe by the negative charge on SP. Electrochemical analyses indicated that electron transfer occurred through electron hopping across the SP-polyFe hybrid. Control experiments using a metal complex composed of Fe and two 2,2':6',2''-terpyridine ligands (terpyFe) showed that SP contributes to the effective electron hopping. This modulation of the electrochemical properties by the layered silicates could be applied to other electrochemical systems, including hybrids of the redox-active ionic species and ion-exchangeable adsorbents.