Selective formation of HCOO – in the electrochemical CO ₂ reduction catalysed by [Ru(bpy) ₂ (CO) ₂ ] ²⁺ (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine)

The selectivity for the formation of HCOO– in electrochemical CO2 reduction catalysed by [Ru(bpy)2(CO)2]2+(bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine) increases on increasing the pKa value of the proton source, and highly selective formation of HCOO– is achieved by using Me2NH·HCl or PhOH as a proton source in MeCN.