Making syngas electrocatalytically using a polypyridyl ruthenium catalyst

Electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide and of water/weak acids to hydrogen by a class of polypyridyl ruthenium complexes both occur by well-defined mechanisms involving common intermediates. Based on available mechanistic insight, conditions have been found for competitive electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂–H₂O–H₂PO₄⁻ mixtures by a single metal complex catalyst to give syngas products with the H₂ : CO ratio controllable by controlling the composition of the solutions.