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

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.