Oxygen reduction reaction catalyzed by cobalt(III) complexes of macrocyclic ligands supported on multiwalled carbon nanotubes

A class of amido-macrocyclic cobalt(III) complexes along with multiwalled carbon nanotubes have been studied for electro-catalytic activity to reduce oxygen. These complexes are efficient for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in wide range of pH conditions by following ideal fuel cell reduction mechanism. Depending on the stability of complexes in different pH, electrochemical studies were performed to predict the reduction mechanism. Rotating disk electrode and rotating ring-disk electrode studies show that these complexes reduce oxygen via four electron reduction process in mild acidic pH and two step two electron reduction processes in basic conditions, with negligible amount of hydrogen peroxide generation.