Acid Strength Effects on Dimerization during Metal-Free Catalytic Dioxygen Reduction.

Development of earth-abundant catalysts for the reduction of dioxygen (ORR) is essential for the development of alternative industrial processes and energy sources. Here, we report a transition metal-free dicationic organocatalyst () for the ORR. The ORR performance of this compound was studied in acetonitrile solution under both electrochemical conditions and spectrochemical conditions, using halogenated acetic acid derivatives spanning a p range of 12.