Functionalization of Carbon Nanotubes with Nickel Cyclam for the Electrochemical Reduction of CO2

The exploitation of molecular catalysts for CO2 electrolysis requires their immobilization on the cathode of the electrolyzer. As an illustration of this approach, a Ni-cyclam complex with a cyclam derivative functionalized with a pyrene moiety is synthesized, found to be a selective catalyst for CO2 electroreduction to CO, and immobilized on a carbon nanotube-coated gas diffusion electrode by using a noncovalent binding strategy. The as-prepared electrode is efficient, selective, and robust for electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to CO. Very high turnover numbers (ca. 61460) and turnover frequencies (ca. 4.27 s(-1)) are enabled by the novel electrode material in organic solvent-water mixtures saturated with CO2. This material provides an interesting platform for further improvement.