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)22+(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.