A Water Soluble Cobalt(II) Complex with 1,10-Phenanthroline, a Catalyst for Visible-Light-Driven Reduction of CO2 to CO with High Selectivity

Authors：Wang, Chun-Li; Du, Juan; Yang, Hao; Zhan, Shu-Zhong^*

Source：Catalysis Letters, 2022, 152(7): 1961-1968.

DOI：10.1007/s10562-021-03782-7

• Cobalt complex
• Catalyst
• Photocatalytic activities for CO2 reduction
• High selectivity for CO generation

In the presence of KCN, the reaction of 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) with Co (ClO4)(2) affords a cobalt(II) complex, [(phen)(2)Co(CN)(2)], a co-catalyst for photochemical driven CO2 reduction to CO. Under visible light (lambda = 469 nm), together with [Ru(phen)(3)](PF6)(2)] as a photosensitizer and triethanolamine (TEOA) as a sacrificial electron donor, [(phen)(2)Co(CN)(2)] shows a high selectivity (95%) for the catalytic reduction of CO2 to CO with a turnover number (TON) of 1450 during 10 h irradiation. The photocatalytic mechanism for CO2 reduction by [Co(phen)(2)(CN)(2)] is afforded. I hope that these findings can afford a new chemical paradigm for the design of catalysts for CO2 reduction that is highly active and selective.