Département de chimie moléculaire

Herein{,} a new heterobimetallic CoFe complex is reported with the aim of comparing its performance in terms of H2 production within a series of related MFe complexes (M = Ni{,} Fe). The fully oxidized [(LN2S2)CoII(CO)FeIICp]+ complex (CoIIFeII{,} LN2S2 2− = 2{,}2′-(2{,}2′-bipyridine-6{,}6′-diyl)bis(1{,}1′-diphenylethanethiolate){,} Cp− = cyclopentadienyl anion) can be (electro)chemically reduced to its CoIFeII form{,} and both complexes have been isolated and fully characterized by means of classic spectroscopic techniques and theoretical calculations. The redox properties of CoIIFeII have been investigated in DMF{,} revealing that this complex is the easiest to reduce by one-electron among the analogous MFe complexes (M = Ni{,} Fe{,} Co). Nevertheless{,} it displays no electrocatalytic activity for H2 production{,} contrary to the FeFe and NiFe analogs{,} which have proven remarkable performance.