Homogeneous CO2 reduction by Ni(cyclam) at a glassy carbon electrode

The homogeneous CO(2) reduction activity of several nickel cyclam complexes was examined by cyclic voltammetry and controlled potential electrolysis. CO production with high efficiency from unsubstituted Ni(cyclam) was verified, while the activity was found to be attenuated with methyl substitution of the amines on the cyclam ring. Reactivity with CO(2) was also probed using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The relative CO(2) binding energies to the Ni(I) state obtained from DFT were found to match well with the experimental results and shed light on the possible importance of the isomeric form of Ni(cyclam) in determining the catalytic activity.