Hydrodechlorination of Dichloromethane by a Metal-Free Triazole-Porphyrin Electrocatalyst: Demonstration of Main-Group Element Electrocatalysis*.

In this work, the electrocatalytic reduction of dichloromethane (CH2 Cl2 ) into hydrocarbons involving a main group element-based molecular triazole-porphyrin electrocatalyst H2PorT8 is reported. This catalyst converted CH2 Cl2 in acetonitrile to various hydrocarbons (methane, ethane, and ethylene) with a Faradaic efficiency of 70 % and current density of -13 mA cm-2 at a potential of -2.2 V vs. Fc/Fc+ using water as a proton source. The findings of this study and its mechanistic interpretations demonstrated that H2PorT8 was an efficient and stable catalyst for the hydrodechlorination of CH2 Cl2 and that main group catalysts could be potentially used for exploring new catalytic reaction mechanisms.