Carbon dioxide (CO2) has received attention as an abundant, economical, and renewable C1 feedstock. The catalytic conversion of CO2 to fuels is of utmost importance. Herein we report a series of cobalt aminopyridine complexes bearing secondary sphere elements that are thought to serve as models for enzymatic hydrogen bond donors. We have examined the electrochemical reactivity of these species with CO2 in the presence and absence of protons and have found that they can efficiently reduce CO2 to CO. Synthetic endeavors have been performed for the purpose of attenuating the hydrogen bond capabilities of the system in order to determine the influence of the second coordination sphere interactions on catalytic activity. Electrochemical and spectroscopic studies, coupled with structural investigations have been performed to elucidate the mechanism through which CO2 binds to, and is reduced by the systems presented above. It has been shown that hydrogen bond interactions are crucial for efficient CO2 reduction.

CO2 reduction using cobalt aminopyridine complexes

251st National Meeting (2016)

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