Investigation of Cyclam Based Re-Complexes as Potential Electrocatalysts for the CO2 Reduction Reaction

Among the various homogenous electrocatalysts, especially Re(bpy)(CO)3Cl and [Ni(cyclam)]2+ were shown to be highly efficient for the selective conversion of CO2 to CO at moderate potentials. However, a purposeful combination of a ReI tricarbonyl unit with a cyclam ligand hitherto received no attention. Herein, we report on a series of cyclam based Re complexes comprising the original {N4} as well as heteroatom-altered ligand frameworks, describe their synthesis, reveal their coordination behavior and furthermore investigate their performance towards the electrochemical CO2 reduction.