Ricardo VENEGAS TOLEDO
Post-doctorant à Pontifical Catholic University of Chile et au LISE
In the search for new low-cost heterogeneous catalysts for electrochemical reactions of industrial and energetic interest, the correlations between the structural properties and the activity of the molecular catalysts have been useful in the design and synthesis of new metal complexes that could mean an alternative to the conventional noble metal-based electrodes. Inspired by biological enzymes like cytochrome c or lacasse, the synthetic molecular catalysts have been considered as promising materials for a large number of reactions because their electrochemical properties can be modulated by different strategies such as the influence of the substituent groups on the ligand, the presence of an axial ligand, the covalent modification of the electrode surface and the heat-treatments, the latter represents the most promising alternative for the development of new cathodes in the fuel cells. In this seminar, we will talk about the correlations that govern the electrochemical processes of modified electrodes with molecular catalysts and how the understanding of these correlations has allowed to improve the design of new catalysts for reactions of industrial, biological or energy interest.