Electrochemical formation of methane, ethylene, and ethane with a bimetallic nickel complex: Is CO2 the source of carbon?

Abstract

Most molecular CO₂ reduction electrocatalysts generate CO as the only gaseous carbon product. Herein, we report a dinickel complex that produces H₂, CO, CH₄, C₂H₄, and C₂H₆ under negative applied potentials. Using ¹³C isotopic labelling and high-resolution mass spectrometry, we find that CO and CH₄ originate from CO₂, C₂H₄ does not, and the origin of C₂H₆ remains unresolved.