Rhenium Platforms Supporting Ancillary BODIPY Chromophores for Conversion of CO₂ to Fuels

Abstract

The reduction of carbon dioxide to chemical fuels is an important challenge in the field of renewable energy conversion chemistry. Given the thermodynamic stability of carbon dioxide, it is difficult to efficiently activate this molecule in a selective fashion. Several ruthenium and rhenium polypyridyl complexes have proven to be photocatalysts for this process but suffer from poor light absorption cross sections. To address this issue, BODIPY light harvesting moieties have been incorporated onto a 2,2’-(Bipyridine)tricarbonylrhenium(I) complex. The resulting compound has been studied using a combination of optical, electrochemical, and Xray crystallographic experiments. The appended BODIPY chromophores influence the electronic structure of the rhenium complex and the ability of this system to electrochemically promote the reduction of CO₂.