Electrochemical, Spectroscopic, and Quantum Chemical Study of Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution in the Presence of N-Methyl-9-phenylacridinium Iodide

Main intermediates in the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution promoted by N-methyl-9-phenyl-acridinium iodide have been identified and characterized using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and NMR and ESR spectroscopy. A probable mechanism of the process has been proposed on the basis of DFT quantum chemical calculations. Analysis of structural and energetic parameters of intermediate products has shown that the electrocatalytic process involves formation of N-protonated radical cation, followed by reductive elimination of molecular hydrogen in the bimolecular reaction of two radical cations.