This dissertation details efforts in designing and tuning catalysts that have the ability to engage CO2 through a metal center and functional groups in the second coordination sphere. We attempted to improve a dinuclear copper complex that has the ability to engage CO2 through two metal centers and was previously reported as a CO2 reduction catalysts. Electron donating substitutions were made on the ligands in attempts to improve rates for the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2. These modifications led to changes in the reduction potentials and the structures of the complexes, but did not produce significant improvements in turnover frequencies or overpotentials for CO2 reduction.

We attempted to improve rhodium disphosphine catalysts for the conversion of CO2 to HCOO– by introducing ligands with proton relays. Several [Rh(P2N2)2]+ complexes were synthesized. They were structurally characterized as square planar with slight tetrahedral distortions and exhibited a reversible 2e– Rh(I/–I) redox couple in voltammetric studies. We synthesized the HRh(P2N2)2 complexes and structurally characterized them as having distorted trigonal bipyramidal geometry. The hydricities of several of the HRh(P2N2)2 complexes were measured using equilibration experiments monitored by 31P NMR. The HRh(P2N2)2 complexes are among the most hydridic complexes the 16 e– M(diphosphine)2 class.

We compared the activity of the [Rh(P2N2)2]+ complexes for catalytic CO2 hydrogenation to formate to a [Rh(diphosphine)2]+ complex of a similar hydricity that lacked pendant amines. We found that, despite the strong reducing power of the HRh(P2N2)2 complexes, the non-pendant-amine-containing Rh complex was the best catalyst for CO2 hydrogenation. We also tested these complexes for their electrochemical CO2 reduction activity. While these complexes are energetic enough to react with CO2 when reduced, they are unstable under the high potentials necessary for their reduction.

We tested Ru pincer complexes that are known to hydrogenate esters via a mechanism that involves co-operative metal-ligand interactions for their ability to reduce CO2 and methylformate electrochemically. We also synthesized and tested an Fe analogue of these complexes for electrochemical reactivity. We found that these complexes are promising candidates for further study as CO2 reduction catalysts.