title: CO2 reduction catalyzed by mercaptopteridine on glassy carbon.
abstract: The catalytic reduction of CO2 is of great current interest because of its role in climate change and the energy cycle. We report a pterin electrocatalyst, 6,7-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-2-mercaptopteridine (PTE), that catalyzes the reduction of CO2 and formic acid on a glassy carbon electrode. Pterins are natural cofactors for a wide range of enzymes, functioning as redox mediators and C1 carriers, but they have not been exploited as electrocatalysts. Bulk electrolysis of a saturated CO2 solution in the presence of the PTE catalyst produces methanol, as confirmed by gas chromatography and (13)C NMR spectroscopy, with a Faradaic efficiency of 10-23%. FTIR spectroelectrochemistry detected a progression of two-electron reduction products during bulk electrolysis, including formate, aqueous formaldehyde, and methanol. A transient intermediate was also detected by FTIR and tentatively assigned as a PTE carbamate. The results demonstrate that PTE catalyzes the reduction of CO2 at low overpotential and without the involvement of any metal.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Emory University , Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States.
authors.forename: Dongmei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.forename: Donny
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Magana
authors.forename: R Brian
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Dyer