First application of antimony(III) corrole for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Three new antimony corroles bearing nitro group at ortho-, meta-, and para-position of 10-phenyl 2-NBPC-Sb(1), 3-NBPC-Sb(2) and 4-NBPC-Sb(3), respectively, were prepared. The application of antimony corrole in the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) was explored for the first time. The results demonstrate that antimony corrole has good electrocatalytic activity in the HER with acetonitrile and neutral buffer solvents; the catalytic efficacy follows the order 1 > 2 > 3. Specifically, complex 1 exhibited a remarkable turnover frequency (TOF) of 17.65 s⁻¹ in acetonitrile when using trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) served as the proton source at an overpotential of 642 mV. The HER electrocatalyzed with antimony corrole may occur via ECEC pathways.