Small Organic Molecule Based on Benzothiadiazole for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Production

A small organic molecule 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole-4, 7-dicarbonitrile (BTDN) is assessed for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution on glassy carbon electrode and shows a hydrogen production Faradaic efficiency of 82% in the presence of salicylic acid. The key catalytic intermediates of reduced species BTDN–• and protonated intermediates are characterized or hypothesized by using various spectroscopic methods and density functional theory (DFT)-based calculations. With the experimental and theoretical results, a catalytic mechanism of BTDN for electrocatalytic H2 evolution is proposed.