Immobilization of a molecular Re complex on MOF-derived hierarchical porous carbon for CO2 electroreduction in water/ionic liquid electrolyte.

Immobilization of a molecular Re complex on MOF-derived hierarchical porous carbon for CO2 electroreduction in water/ionic liquid electrolyte. ChemSusChem. 2020 Sep 25;: Authors: Fontecave M, Grammatico D, Tran HN, Li Y, Pugliese S, Billon L, Su BL Abstract The development of molecular catalysts for CO2 electroreduction within electrolyzers requests their immobilization on the electrodes. While a variety of methods have been explored for the heterogenization of homogeneous complexes, we here report a novel approach using a hierarchical porous carbon material, derived from a Metal Organic Framework, as a support for the well-known molecular catalyst [Re(bpy)(CO)3Cl] (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine). This cathodic hybrid material, named Re@HPC, has been tested for CO2 electroreduction using a mixture of an ionic liquid (1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, EMIM) and water as the electrolyte. Interestingly, it catalyzes the conversion of CO2 into a mixture of carbon monoxide and formic acid, with a selectivity that depends on the applied potential. The present study thus reveals that Re@HPC is a remarkable catalyst, enjoying excellent activity (turnover numbers for CO2 reduction of 7835 after 2 h at -1.95 V vs Fc/Fc+ with a current density of 6 mA cm-2) and good stability. These results emphasize the advantages of integrating molecular catalysts onto such porous carbon materials for developing novel, stable and efficient, catalysts for...
Source: ChemSusChem - Category: Chemistry Authors: Tags: ChemSusChem Source Type: research