Cyclometalated Ruthenium(II) Complexes and their Incorporation into the Metal-Organic Framework UiO-67 for Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction

Abstract

Two of the biggest challenges for the world today are the global warming, partly resulting from the increased CO2 emissions, and the need of new energy sources due to an increasing world population and the necessary replacement of fossil fuels. The capture and transformation of CO2 into high energy containing chemicals could contribute to both of these challenges. In this PhD thesis, a type of porous materials is developed and studied with the aim of such CO2 utilization. These materials are called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and can be readily functionalized by a wide range of chemical species. New, cyclometalated ruthenium(II) complexes were synthesized and incorporated into the MOF UiO-67 by different synthetic methods. These complexes and the corresponding functionalized MOFs were found to intensely absorb visible light. The MOFs were also tested for photocatalytic CO2 reduction, in which the reduction products carbon monoxide, methanol, and formic acid were observed.