Primary- and secondary-sphere effects of amine substituent position on rhenium bipyridine electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction

The positioning of pendant protons near the catalytic site was shown to promote the CO2 reduction activity through the formation of hydrogen bonding interactions. Herein, we demonstrate that closer proximity of an NH2moiety to the Re(bpy)(CO)3Cl active site positively shifts the electrocatalytic potential due to beneficial hydrogen bonding interactions.