Homogeneous Solution Electrocatalysts for CO2 Reduction

摘要

The goal of the research funded by this grant was to develop new electrocatalystsfor CO2 reduction, and to probe the fundamental mechanisms of the steps that lead to the reduction of CO2. As the title suggests, this initially involved the synthesis of soluble transition metal complexes. More recently, the inability of the homogeneous catalysts to reduce CO2 past the two-electron stage, and the results of mechanistic studies, led us to investigate heterogeneous systems that could access more than two electron equivalents. Our initial investigations led to the preparation of polypyridyl complexes of ruthenium, osmium, rhenium, iridium, and rhodium.