Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 Using Group VII Metal Catalysts

Anthropogenic CO2 emissions, primarily from the combustion of fossil fuels, are driving climate change at an alarming rate. Our current dependence on carbon-based fuels has motivated research interest in the capture and catalytic reduction of carbon dioxide back to liquid fuels. Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide has been intensely researched over the past decade. Here, some of the important contributions made to this field over the past decade using the Group VII transition metal bipyridine catalysts are reviewed. Strategies to further our mechanistic understanding of the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to CO are described.