Click-Derived Triazoles and Triazolylidenes of Manganese for Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO(2) †

A series of new fac-[Mn(L)(CO)(3)Br] complexes where L is a bidentate chelating ligand containing mixed mesoionic triazolylidene-pyridine (MIC^py, 1), triazolylidene-triazole (MIC^trz, 2), and triazole-pyridine (trz^py, 3) ligands have been prepared and fully characterized, including the single crystal X-ray diffraction studies of 1 and 2. The abilities of 1–3 and complex fac-[Mn(MIC^MIC)(CO)(3)Br] (4) to catalyze the electroreduction of CO(2) has been assessed for the first time. It was found that all complexes displayed a current increase under CO(2) atmosphere, being 3 and 4 the most active complexes. Complex 3, bearing a N^N-based ligand exhibited a good efficiency and an excellent selectivity for reducing CO(2) to CO in the presence of 1.0 M of water, at low overpotential. Interestingly, complex 4 containing the strongly electron donating di-imidazolylidene ligand exhibited comparable activity to 3, when the experiments were performed in neat acetonitrile at slightly higher overpotential (−1.86 vs. −2.14 V).