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Electrochemical Investigation Of Homogenous Species At An Electrode Interface, Christopher Larsen Iii

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

CO2 reduction is a pressing problem worldwide, and one obstacle in the electrochemical conversion of CO2 to more useful C1 products such as methanol and formic acid is the kinetic barrier known as overpotential. The overpotential of rearranging the nuclei in CO2 to accommodate electron transfer can be lowered by pre-bending the CO2 molecule in an adduct-mediated complex. The work presented in Part I utilizes a combination of hard and soft donors on pincer-like ligands to effect the bending of CO2 prior to electrochemical reduction. A large majority of the work consists of using Group 4 metallocenes, but Chapter 3 …