Selective CO Reduction Catalyzed by Single Cobalt Sites on Carbon Nitride under Visible-Light Irradiation.

Framework nitrogen atoms of carbon nitride (CN) can coordinate with and activate metal sites for catalysis. In this study, CN was employed to harvest visible light and activate Co sites, without the use of additional ligands, in photochemical CO reduction. Photocatalysts containing single Co sites on CN were prepared by a simple deposition method and demonstrated excellent activity and product selectivity toward CO formation.

CO reduction with Re(i)-NHC compounds: driving selective catalysis with a silicon nanowire photoelectrode.

The CO-reduction activity of two Re(i)-NHC complexes is investigated employing a silicon nanowire photoelectrode to drive catalysis. Photovoltages greater than 440 mV are observed along with excellent selectivity towards CO over H formation. The observed selectivity towards CO production correlates with strong adsorption of the catalysts on the photoelectrode surface.