The exploration of
novel electrocatalysts for CO
2
reduction
is necessary to overcome global warming and the depletion of fossil
fuels. In the current study, the electrocatalytic CO
2
reduction
of [Re(CO)
3
Cl(
N
-
N
)],
where
N
-
N
represents 3-(2-pyridyl)-1,2,4-triazole (Hpy), 3-(pyridin-2-yl)-5-phenyl-l,2,4-triazole
(Hph), and 2,2′-bipyridine-4,4′ dicarboxylic acidic
(bpy-COOH) ligands, was investigated. In CO
2
-saturated
electrolytes, cyclic voltammograms showed an enhancement of the current
at the second reduction wave for all complexes. In the presence of
triethanolamine (TEOA), the currents of Re(Hpy), Re(Hph), and Re(bpy-COOH)
enhanced significantly by approximately 4-, 2-, and 5-fold at peak
potentials of −1.60, −150, and −1.69 V
Ag/Ag+
, respectively (in comparison to without TEOA). The reduction potential
of Re(Hph) was less negative than those of Re(Hpy) and Re(COOH), which
was suggested to cause its least efficiency for CO
2
reduction.
Chronoamperometry measurements showed the stability of the cathodic
current at the second reduction wave for at least 300 s, and Re(COOH)
was the most stable in the CO
2
-catalyzed reduction. The
appearance and disappearance of the absorption band in the UV/vis
spectra indicated the reaction of the catalyst with molecular CO
2
and its conversion to new species, which were proposed to
be Re-
DMF
+
and Re-
TEOA
and were supposed to react with CO
2
molecules. The CO
2
molecules were claimed to be captured and inserted into the
oxygen bond of Re-
TEOA
, resulting in the enhancement
of the CO
2
reduction efficiency. The results indicate a
new way of using these complexes in electrocatalytic CO
2
reduction.