Photoreduction of CO2 on p-type Silicon Using Re(bipy-But)(CO)3Cl: Photovoltages Exceeding 600 mV for the Selective Reduction of CO2 to CO

Hydrogen-terminated p-type silicon was used as a photocathode for the selective photoreduction of CO2 to CO in the presence of Re(bipy-But)(CO)3Cl (bipy-But = 4,4′-di-tert-butyl-2,2′-bipyridine) as an electrocatalyst. The reduction of CO2 to CO on p-type silicon was achieved at a potential more than 600 mV lower than that required with a Pt electrode. A Faradaic efficiency of 97 ± 3% and an overall efficiency of 9.3% and 10% for the conversion of monochromatic and polychromatic light, respectively, to electricity were observed for the CO2 photoreduction process. A short-circuit quantum efficiency of 61% for light-to-chemical energy conversion was observed for the conversion of CO2 to CO.