Triphasic Nature of Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity Induces Storage and Catalysis Effects in Hydrogen and Oxygen Reactivity at Electrode Surfaces

Hydrogen oxidation and oxygen reduction are two crucial energy conversion reactions, which are shown to be both strongly affected by the presence of intrinsically microporous polymer coatings on electrodes. Polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) are known to possess extremely high internal surface area and ability to bind gases under dry conditions. It is shown here that both, hydrogen- and oxygen gas binding into PIMs, also occurs under wet or “triphasic” conditions in aqueous electrolyte environments (when immersed in 0.01 M phosphate buffer at pH 7). For two known PIM materials (PIM-1 and PIM-PY), nanoparticles are formed by an anti-solvent precipitation protocol and then cast as a film onto platinum or glassy carbon electrodes. Voltammetry experiments reveal evidence for hydrogen and oxygen binding. Both, PIM-1 and PIM-PY, locally store hydrogen or oxygen gas at the electrode surface and thereby significantly affect electrocatalytic reactivity. The onset of oxygen reduction on glassy carbon is shifted by 0.15 V in the positive direction.