Manganese-Carbonyl Complexes As Catalysts for CO2 Electrochemical Reduction

Abstract

Carbon dioxide conversion is increasingly gaining attention as CO2 is increasingly being regarded as a feedstock for the preparation of a wide range of value added commodities such as useful chemical raw materials or energy rich products. However, an efficient CO2 transformation process is challenging, but it has great potential for the demand of future resources that do not rely on petrochemical sources.The CO2 reduction reaction requires high-yield, an input of energy and a catalyst. It can be performed on molecular catalysts. Among various experimental techniques that can be implemented, catalytic CO2 Electrochemical Reduction Reactions (CO2ERR) have promise as they convert electrical energy into chemicals (energy storage). In the past thirty years, several transition metal complexes, able to convert CO2 by CO2ERR, have been studied. This includes systems based on Re, Ru and Os bipyridyl carbonyl systems, however, very few earth abundant efficient metal based molecular catalysts have been reported so far.Much of our present work[[1]] is focussed on developing and studying new Mn-based catalysts and understanding their catalytic properties towards CO2ERR pathway (Scheme), in order to gain a better understanding with the aim to improving and advancing this field of CO2 transformation.Therefore here we will present our on-going research on Mn-carbonyl based molecular complexes, which is helping to better understand bipyridyl ligand effects on the CO2 catalytic electro(photo)reduction processes and especially the important role that ligands can have on catalytic activity and therefore efficiency and product selectivity, yield and overall catalyst stability under catalytic conditions.