CO2 Reduction Catalyzed by Mercaptopteridine on Glassy Carbon

The catalytic reduction of CO2 is of great current interest because of its role in climate change and the energy cycle. We report a pterin electrocatalyst, 6,7-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-2-mercaptopteridine (PTE), that catalyzes the reduction of CO2 and formic acid on a glassy carbon electrode. Pterins are natural cofactors for a wide range of enzymes, functioning as redox mediators and C1 carriers, but they have not been exploited as electrocatalysts. Bulk electrolysis of a saturated CO2 solution in the presence of the PTE catalyst produces methanol, as confirmed by gas chromatography and C-13 NMR spectroscopy, with a Faradaic efficiency of 10-23%. FTIR spectroelectrochemistry detected a progression of two-electron reduction products during bulk electrolysis, including formate, aqueous formaldehyde, and methanol. A transient intermediate was also detected by FTIR and tentatively assigned as a PTE carbamate. The results demonstrate that PTE catalyzes the reduction of CO2 at low overpotential and without the involvement of any metal.