Perovskite-Like Carbodiimides (NCN): Synthesis and Characterization of MnHf(NCN) and FeHf(NCN).

Two novel ternary air-stable transition-metal carbodiimides, MnHf(NCN) and FeHf(NCN), were synthesized via solid-state metathesis using either ZnNCN or NaNCN as the carbodiimide source and the corresponding binary metal chlorides. These two phases are the first examples of transition-metal carbodiimides with an (NCN) composition, akin to ubiquitous O perovskite oxides. The crystal structure of MnHf(NCN) was determined and refined from powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) data in the non-centrosymmetric space group 622 allowing for chirality, the assignment of which is supported by second-harmonic generation (SHG) measurements.

Synthesis and Properties of Cobalt Complexes with [BH] Ligands.

The unusually high oxidation state + IV of cobalt is stabilized by ligands based on [BH] in dark blue colored Cs[Co(BH(OH))]·4.56HO, K[Co(BH(OH))]·2HO, Cs[Co{(BH)(O)(OBOH)}]·4HO and K[Co{(BH)(OBOH)}]·7HO. These compounds were obtained by reacting Co salts with [BH] under alkaline conditions.

Sensibilization of p-NiO with ZnSe/CdS and CdS/ZnSe quantum dots for photoelectrochemical water reduction.

Core/shell quantum dots (QDs) paired with semiconductor photocathodes for water reduction have rarely been implemented so far. We demonstrate the integration of ZnSe/CdS and CdS/ZnSe QDs with porous p-type NiO photocathodes for water reduction. The QDs demonstrate appreciable enhancement in water-reduction efficiency, as compared with the bare NiO.

An MnNCN-Derived Electrocatalyst for CuWO Photoanodes.

CuWO is a photoanode candidate in neutral pH, and manganese-based oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts are of high interest due to their low price and low toxicity. Considering the unexplored chemistry of transition-metal carbodiimides/cyanamides for the PEC water oxidation, we investigated MnNCN as an electrocatalyst for CuWO under AM 1.5G illumination in potassium phosphate electrolyte (pH 7).