A fluorescence-based screening protocol for the identification of water oxidation catalysts

Efficient catalysts are crucial for the sustainable generation of fuel by splitting water. A versatile screening protocol would simplify the identification of novel and better catalysts by using high throughput experimentation. Herein, such a screening approach for the identification of molecular catalysts for chemical oxidation of water is reported, which is based on oxygen-sensitive fluorescence quenching using an OxoDish. More than 200 reactions were performed revealing several catalysts, for example, a dinuclear Fe complex that produced oxygen under the used reaction conditions. Clark electrode measurements confirmed a similar rate in oxygen evolution, making the developed parallel screening approach a robust and versatile tool to screen for molecular water oxidation catalysts using chemical oxidants under acidic and neutral conditions.