Singlet Oxygen Generation via an Electrochemical Reduction Method Assisted by a Ruthenium(II) Complex

In this work, singlet oxygen (1O2) is unprecedently recorded in the electrochemical reduction of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) [Ru(bpy)32+] in an acetonitrile solution with dissolved oxygen, which is well characterized by the specific probe of Singlet Oxygen Sensor Greens and the technique of electron-spin resonance in this work. Importantly, this new electrochemical method to produce 1O2 shows higher efficiency than the conventional photodriven method. Furthermore, taken together with the inherent advantages of electrochemical techniques compared with the photochemical/chemical-driven method, this electrochemical method would inevitably show great promise in reactive-oxygen-species-related studies in the future.