Photo-Induced Generation of Dihydrogen and Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Using Transition Metal Complexes

Ionic Liquids in Metal, Photo-, Electro-, and (Bio) Catalysis

Ionic liquids (ILs) have unique physicochemical properties that make them advantageous for catalysis, such as low vapor pressure, non-flammability, high thermal and chemical stabilities, and the ability to enhance the activity and stability of (bio)catalysts. ILs can improve the efficiency, selectivity, and sustainability of bio(transformations) by acting as activators of enzymes, selectively dissolving substrates and products, and reducing toxicity. They can also be recycled and reused multiple times without losing their effectiveness. ILs based on imidazolium cation are preferred for structural organization aspects, with a semiorganized layer surrounding the catalyst. ILs act as a container, providing a confined space that allows modulation of electronic and geometric effects, miscibility of reactants and products, and residence time of species. ILs can stabilize ionic and radical species and control the catalytic activity of dynamic processes. Supported IL phase (SILP) derivatives and polymeric ILs (PILs) are good options for molecular engineering of greener catalytic processes. The major factors governing metal, photo-, electro-, and biocatalysts in ILs are discussed in detail based on the vast literature available over the past two and a half decades. Catalytic reactions, ranging from hydrogenation and cross-coupling to oxidations, promoted by homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts in both single and multiphase conditions, are extensively reviewed and discussed considering the knowledge accumulated until now.

Catalytic CO2 Reduction with Heptacoordinated Polypyridine Complexes: Switching the Selectivity via Metal Replacement

The discovery of molecular catalysts for the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2 RR) in the presence of water, which are both effective and selective towards the generation of carbon-based products, is a critical task. Herein we report the catalytic activity towards the CO2 RR in acetonitrile/water mixtures by a cobalt complex and its iron analog both featuring the same redox-active ligand and an unusual seven-coordination environment. Bulk electrolysis experiments show that the cobalt complex mainly yields formate (52 % selectivity at an applied potential of -2.0 V vs Fc+ /Fc and 1 % H2 O) or H2 (up to 86 % selectivity at higher applied bias and water content), while the iron complex always delivers CO as the major product (selectivity >74 %). The different catalytic behavior is further confirmed under photochemical conditions with the [Ru(bpy)3 ]2+ sensitizer (bpy=2,2'-bipyridine) and N,N-diisopropylethylamine as electron donor, where the cobalt complex leads to preferential H2 formation (up to 89 % selectivity), while the iron analog quantitatively generates CO (up to 88 % selectivity). This is ascribed to a preference towards a metal-hydride vs. a metal-carboxyl pathway for the cobalt and the iron complex, respectively, and highlights how metal replacement may effectively impact on the reactivity of transition metal complexes towards solar fuel formation.

Visible-Light-Driven Reductive Carboxylation of Benzyl Bromides with Carbon Dioxide Using Formate as Terminal Reductant

Cheap and available formate can be seen formally as a carbon dioxide radical anion (CO₂^•-) combined with a hydrogen atom, where the CO₂^•- is not only a highly active radical but also a very powerful reductant. In this paper, we successfully realized a visible-light-driven carboxylation of benzyl bromides with carbon dioxide to prepare high-value arylacetic acids using potassium formate as a terminal reductant. This reaction is characterized by mild reaction conditions and a wide range of substrates. Moreover, under nitrogen atmosphere, the reaction can also achieve the carboxylation of benzyl bromides utilizing an excess of potassium formate. Mechanistic experiments indicate this carboxylation proceeded through CO₂^•-, which was generated from the oxidation of 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane with excited photosensitizer Ir(ppy)₂(dtbbpy)PF₆ in the presence of the potassium formate.

Strategies for Breaking Molecular Scaling Relationships for the Electrochemical CO2 Reduction Reaction

The electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) is a promising strategy for converting CO2 to fuels and value-added chemicals using renewable energy sources. Molecular electrocatalysts show promise for the selective conversion...

Towards Sustainable Oxalic Acid from CO2 and Biomass

To quickly and drastically reduce CO2 emissions and meet our ambitions of a circular future, we need to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture and utilization (CCU) to deal with the CO2 that we produce. While we have many alternatives to replace fossil feedstocks for energy generation, for materials such as plastics we need carbon. The ultimate circular carbon feedstock would be CO2 . A promising route is the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to formic acid derivatives that can subsequently be converted into oxalic acid. Oxalic acid is a potential new platform chemical for material production as useful monomers such as glycolic acid can be derived from it. This work is part of the European Horizon 2020 project "Ocean" in which all these steps are developed. This Review aims to highlight new developments in oxalic acid production processes with a focus on CO2 -based routes. All available processes are critically assessed and compared on criteria including overall process efficiency and triple bottom line sustainability.

Light-Mediated Carboxylation Using Carbon Dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a green and sustainable one-carbon source, which could be utilized in the production of various fine chemicals. In recent studies, the light-mediated carboxylation employing CO₂ has received considerable attention. The photocarboxylation of substrates with CO₂ to build novel C-C bonds is introduced in this Minireview. The article is arranged based on the light-driven reactive intermediates, including CO₂ radical anion, substrate radical anions, carbanions, and M-C species. Most of the cases are under the topic of photoredox catalysis, with single electron transfer as the main driving force. Some non-catalytic examples are also discussed to provide more mechanistic insights.

Transition metal-based catalysts for the electrochemical CO2 reduction: from atoms and molecules to nanostructured materials

An overview of the main strategies for the rational design of transition metal-based catalysts for the electrochemical conversion of CO₂, ranging from molecular systems to single-atom and nanostructured catalysts.

Long-lived charge separation in dye–semiconductor assemblies: a pathway to multi-electron transfer reactions

Key approaches to achieve long-lived charge separation and promote conduction band mediated electron transfer in dye-sensitized semiconductor assemblies.

Photo- and Electrochemical Valorization of Carbon Dioxide Using Earth-Abundant Molecular Catalysts

The dramatic increase in anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions in recent decades has forced us to look for alternative carbon-neutral processes for the production of energy vectors and commodity chemicals. Photo- and electrochemical reduction of CO₂ are appealing strategies for the storage of sustainable and intermittent energies in the form of chemical bonds of synthetic fuels and value-added molecules. In these approaches, carbon dioxide is converted to products such as CO, HCOOH and MeOH through proton-coupled electron transfer reactions. The use of earth-abundant elements as components of the catalytic materials is crucial for the large-scale applicability of this technology. This review summarizes the most recent advances related to this issue, with particular focus on studies where molecular metal complexes are used as catalysts. In addition, with the aim of aiding in the design of more robust and efficient non-noble metal-based catalysts, we discuss the lessons learned from the corresponding mechanistic studies.

Electrocatalytic Metal-Organic Frameworks for Energy Applications

With the global energy demand expected to increase drastically over the next several decades, the development of a sustainable energy system to meet this increase is paramount. Renewable energy sources can be coupled with electrochemical conversion processes to store energy in chemical bonds. To promote these difficult transformations, electrocatalysts that operate at high conversion rates and efficiency are required. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as a promising class of materials; however, the insulating nature of MOFs has limited their application as electrocatalysts. The recent development of conductive MOFs has led to several electrocatalytic MOFs that display activity comparable to that of the best-performing heterogeneous catalysts. Although many electrocatalytic MOFs exhibit low activity and stability, the few successful examples highlight the possibility of MOF electrocatalysts as replacements for noble-metal-based catalysts in commercial energy-converting devices. We review herein the use of pristine MOFs as electrocatalysts to facilitate important energy-related reactions.

Structure-Activity and Stability Relationships for Cobalt Polypyridyl-Based Hydrogen-Evolving Catalysts in Water

A series of eight new and three known cobalt polypyridyl-based hydrogen-evolving catalysts (HECs) with distinct electronic and structural differences are benchmarked in photocatalytic runs in water. Methylene-bridged bis-bipyridyl is the preferred scaffold, both in terms of stability and rate. For a cobalt complex of the tetradentate methanol-bridged bispyridyl-bipyridyl complex [Co^II Br(tpy)]Br, a detailed mechanistic picture is obtained by combining electrochemistry, spectroscopy, and photocatalysis. In the acidic branch, a proton-coupled electron transfer, assigned to formation of Co^III -H, is found upon reduction of Co^II , in line with a pK_a (Co^III -H) of approximately 7.25. Subsequent reduction (-0.94 V vs. NHE) and protonation close the catalytic cycle. Methoxy substitution on the bipyridyl scaffold results in the expected cathodic shift of the reduction, but fails to change the pK_a (Co^III -H). An analysis of the outcome of the benchmarking in view of this postulated mechanism is given along with an outlook for design criteria for new generations of catalysts.

Charge migration and charge transfer in molecular systems

The transfer of charge at the molecular level plays a fundamental role in many areas of chemistry, physics, biology and materials science. Today, more than 60 years after the seminal work of R. A. Marcus, charge transfer is still a very active field of research. An important recent impetus comes from the ability to resolve ever faster temporal events, down to the attosecond time scale. Such a high temporal resolution now offers the possibility to unravel the most elementary quantum dynamics of both electrons and nuclei that participate in the complex process of charge transfer. This review covers recent research that addresses the following questions. Can we reconstruct the migration of charge across a molecule on the atomic length and electronic time scales? Can we use strong laser fields to control charge migration? Can we temporally resolve and understand intramolecular charge transfer in dissociative ionization of small molecules, in transition-metal complexes and in conjugated polymers? Can we tailor molecular systems towards specific charge-transfer processes? What are the time scales of the elementary steps of charge transfer in liquids and nanoparticles? Important new insights into each of these topics, obtained from state-of-the-art ultrafast spectroscopy and/or theoretical methods, are summarized in this review.

Product Selectivity in Homogeneous Artificial Photosynthesis Using [(bpy)Rh(Cp*)X]n+-Based Catalysts

Due to the limited amount of fossil energy carriers, the storage of solar energy in chemical bonds using artificial photosynthesis has been under intensive investigation within the last decades. As the understanding of the underlying working principle of these complex systems continuously grows, more focus will be placed on a catalyst design for highly selective product formation. Recent reports have shown that multifunctional photocatalysts can operate with high chemoselectivity, forming different catalysis products under appropriate reaction conditions. Within this context [(bpy)Rh(Cp*)X]n+-based catalysts are highly relevant examples for a detailed understanding of product selectivity in artificial photosynthesis since the identification of a number of possible reaction intermediates has already been achieved.

Making C–H bonds with CO2: production of formate by molecular electrocatalysts

This article reviews the progress in the reduction of CO₂ to formate using molecular inorganic electrocatalysts, with an emphasis on recent insights and successes in selective C–H bond formation with CO₂ to favor formate production in aqueous solutions.

The mechanism of homogeneous CO2 reduction by Ni(cyclam): product selectivity, concerted proton-electron transfer and C-O bond cleavage

Homogeneous CO2 reduction catalyzed by [Ni(I)(cyclam)](+) (cyclam = 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane) exhibits high efficiency and selectivity yielding CO only at a relatively low overpotential. In this work, a density functional theory study of the reaction mechanism is presented. Earlier experiments have revealed that the same reaction occurring on mercury surfaces generates a mixture of CO and formate. According to the proposed mechanism, an η(1)-CO2 adduct is the precursor for CO evolution, whereas formate is obtained from an η(1)-OCO adduct. Our calculations show that generation of the η(1)-CO2 adduct is energetically favored by ∼14.0 kcal/mol relative to that of the η(1)-OCO complex, thus rationalizing the product selectivity observed experimentally. Binding of η(1)-CO2 to Ni(I) only leads to partial electron transfer from the metal center to CO2. Hence, further CO2 functionalization likely proceeds via an outer-sphere electron-transfer mechanism, for which concerted proton coupled electron transfer (PCET) is calculated to be the most feasible route. Final C-O bond cleavage involves rather low barriers in the presence of H3O(+) and H2CO3 and is therefore essentially concerted with the preceding PCET. As a result, the entire reaction mechanism can be described as concerted proton-electron transfer and C-O bond cleavage. On the basis of the theoretical results, the limitations of the catalytic activity of Ni(cyclam) are discussed, which sheds light on future design of more efficient catalysts.

Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction with a Homogeneous Catalyst in Ionic Liquid: High Catalytic Activity at Low Overpotential

We describe a new strategy for enhancing the efficiency of electrocatalytic CO2 reduction with a homogeneous catalyst, using a room-temperature ionic liquid as both the solvent and electrolyte. The electrochemical behavior of fac-ReCl(2,2'-bipyridine)(CO)3 in neat 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate ([emim][TCB]) was compared with that in acetonitrile containing 0.1 M [Bu4N][PF6]. Two separate one-electron reductions occur in acetonitrile (-1.74 and -2.11 V vs Fc(+/0)), with a modest catalytic current appearing at the second reduction wave under CO2. However, in [emim][TCB], a two-electron reduction wave appears at -1.66 V, resulting in a ∼0.45 V lower overpotential for catalytic reduction of CO2 to CO. Furthermore, the apparent CO2 reduction rate constant, kapp, in [emim][TCB] exceeds that in acetonitrile by over one order of magnitude (kapp = 4000 vs 100 M(-1) s(-1)) at 25 ± 3 °C. Supported by time-resolved infrared measurements, a mechanism is proposed in which an interaction between [emim](+) and the two-electron reduced catalyst results in rapid dissociation of chloride and a decrease in the activation energy for CO2 reduction.

Exciton annihilation and dissociation dynamics in group II-V Cd3P2 quantum dots

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have emerged as a new class of light harvesting materials for solar energy conversion due to their unique size-dependent properties. Most recent studies have focused on II-VI group (such as CdX, X = S, Se, and Te) QDs and lead salt (such as PbS, PbSe, and PbTe) QDs. In this paper, we investigate exciton dissociation and annihilation dynamics of Cd3P2 QDs, a low bulk band gap (0.55 eV) II-V group material, to explore their potential application as a light harvesting component for photoreduction systems. For Cd3P2 QDs with 1S exciton band at 650 nm, a long-lived single exciton state with lifetime of 259 ns and a high emission quantum yield of 65% were observed. In Cd3P2 QD-rhodamine B (RhB, an electron acceptor) complexes, excitons in QDs could be dissociated by ultrafast electron transfer to RhB (6.2 ps), and the charge separated state had a long lifetime (31 ns). Although the photoinduced electron transfer rate in QD-RhB complexes decreased with increasing QD size, electron transfer was observed in QDs with 1S exciton bands at wavelength as long as 1050 nm. Compared with CdSe and PbS, Cd3P2 QDs with both more strongly reducing excited states and broader absorption in the visible and near IR region can be readily achieved, making them potential photosensitizers for photodriven water or CO2 reduction reactions.

Steric effect for proton, hydrogen-atom, and hydride transfer reactions with geometric isomers of NADH-model ruthenium complexes

Two isomers, [Ru(1)]2+ (Ru = Ru(bpy)2, bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, 1 = 2-(pyrid-2'-yl)-1-azaacridine) and [Ru(2)]2+ (2 = 3-(pyrid-2'-yl)-4-azaacridine), are bioinspired model compounds containing the nicotinamide functionality and can serve as precursors for the photogeneration of C-H hydrides for studying reactions pertinent to the photochemical reduction of metal-C1 complexes and/or carbon dioxide. While it has been shown that the structural differences between the azaacridine ligands of [Ru(1)]2+ and [Ru(2)]2+ have a significant effect on the mechanism of formation of the hydride donors, [Ru(1HH)]2+ and [Ru(2HH)]2+, in aqueous solution, we describe the steric implications for proton, net-hydrogen-atom and net-hydride transfer reactions in this work. Protonation of [Ru(2*-)] in aprotic and even protic media is slow compared to that of [Ru(1*-)]+. The net hydrogen-atom transfer between *[Ru(1)]2+ and hydroquinone (H2Q) proceeds by one-step EPT, rather than stepwise electron-proton transfer. Such a reaction was not observed for *[Ru(2)]2+ because the non-coordinated N atom is not easily available for an interaction with H2Q. Finally, the rate of the net hydride ion transfer from [Ru(1HH)]2+ to [Ph3C]+ is significantly slower than that of [Ru (2HH)]2+ owing to steric congestion at the donor site.