Experiments with the titanium dioxide-ruthenium tris-bipyridine-nickel cyclam system for the photocatalytic reduction of CO2

Abstract

Ruthenium tris-bipyridine derived complexes functionalized by either carboxyl or phosphonyl groups were tested as sensitizers for the photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide in the presence of nickel cyclam acting as a catalyst, and a sacrificial donor. These systems were shown to be as efficient as the unsubstituted compounds in solution. Covalent binding to titania nanoparticles gave slightly different results from those with the untreated semiconductor.