ABSTRACT
The photocatalytic conversion of CO2 into C2+ products such as ethylene is a promising path toward the carbon neutral goal but remains a big challenge due to the high activation barrier for CO2 and similar reduction potentials of many possible multi-electron-transfer products. Herein, an effective tandem photocatalysis strategy has been developed to support conversion of CO2 to ethylene by construction of the synergistic dual sites in rhenium-(I) bipyridine fac-[ReI(bpy)(CO)3Cl] (Re-bpy) and copper-porphyrinic triazine framework [PTF(Cu)]. With these two catalysts, a large amount of ethylene can be produced at a rate of 73.2 µmol g-1 h-1 under visible light irradiation. However, ethylene cannot be obtained from CO2 by use of either component of the Re-bpy or PTF(Cu) catalysts alone; with a single catalyst, only monocarbon product CO is produced under similar conditions. In the tandem photocatalytic system, the CO generated at the Re-bpy sites is adsorbed by the nearby Cu single sites in PTF(Cu), and this is followed by a synergistic C-C coupling process which ultimately produces ethylene. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the coupling process between PTF(Cu)-*CO and Re-bpy-*CO to form the key intermediate Re-bpy-*CO-*CO-PTF(Cu) is vital to the C2H4 production. This work provides a new pathway for the design of efficient photocatalysts for photoconversion of CO2 to C2 products via a tandem process driven by visible light under mild conditions.
ABSTRACT
The electroreduction of CO2 to value-added chemicals such as CO is a promising approach to realize carbon-neutral energy cycle, but still remains big challenge including low current density. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with abundant accessible active single-sites can offer a bridge between homogeneous and heterogeneous electrocatalysis, but the low electrical conductivity limits their application for CO2 electroreduction reaction (CO2 RR). Here, a 2D conductive Ni-phthalocyanine-based COF, named NiPc-COF, is synthesized by condensation of 2,3,9,10,16,17,23,24-octa-aminophthalocyaninato Ni(II) and tert-butylpyrene-tetraone for highly efficient CO2 RR. Due to its highly intrinsic conductivity and accessible active sites, the robust conductive 2D NiPc-COF nanosheets exhibit very high CO selectivity (>93%) in a wide range of the applied potentials of -0.6 to -1.1 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and large partial current density of 35 mA cm-2 at -1.1 V versus RHE in aqueous solution that surpasses all the conventional COF electrocatalysts. The robust NiPc-COF that is bridged by covalent pyrazine linkage can maintain its CO2 RR activity for 10 h. This work presents the implementation of the conductive COF nanosheets for CO2 RR and provides a strategy to enhance energy conversion efficiency in electrocatalysis.
ABSTRACT
In the title polymeric ZnII complex, [Zn2(C10H4O8)Cl2(C20H14N4)2] n , the ZnII cations are bridged by both 2,5-di-carb-oxy-benzene-1,4-di-carboxyl-ate dianions and 4'-(pyridin-3-yl)-4,2':6',4''-terpyridine ligands, forming ladder-like polymeric chains propagating along [1-10]. The Cl- anion further coordinates the ZnII cation to complete a distorted tetra-hedral environment. In the 4'-(pyridin-3-yl)-4,2':6',4''-terpyridine ligand, the three sideward pyridine rings are twisted with respect to the central pyridine ring by 39.27â (12), 14.89â (13) and 3.36â (13)°, respectively. In the crystal, classical O-Hâ¯N hydrogen bonds and weak C-Hâ¯O and C-Hâ¯Cl hydrogen bonds link the chains into a three-dimensional supra-molecular architecture. π-π stacking is observed between the pyridine and benzene rings of neighbouring polymeric chains, with a centroid-to-centroid distance of 3.7280â (14)â Å.
