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Construction of artificial photosynthetic systems including CO2 reduction is a promising pathway to produce carbon-neutral fuels and mitigate the greenhouse effect concurrently. However, the exploitation of earth-abundant catalysts for photocatalytic CO2 reduction remains a fundamental challenge, which can be assisted by a systematic summary focusing on a specific catalyst family. Cobalt-based complexes featuring tripodal ligands should merit more insightful discussion and summarization, as they are one of the most examined catalyst families for CO2 photoreduction. In this feature article, the key developments of cobalt-based tripodal complexes as molecular catalysts for light-driven CO2 reduction are discussed to offer an upcoming perspective, analyzing the present progress in electronic/steric tuning through ligand modification and dinuclear design to achieve a synergistic effect, as well as the bottlenecks for further development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrocatalytic reduction of CO 2 to high-value fuels by renewable electricity is a sustainable strategy, which can substitute for fossil fuels and circumvent climate changes induced by elevated CO 2 emission levels, making the rational design of versatile electrocatalysts highly desirable. Among all the electrocatalytic materials used in the CO 2 reduction reaction, nickel phthalocyanine (NiPc)-based electrocatalysts have attracted considerable attention recently because of their high CO selectivity and catalytic activity. Herein, we review the latest advances in CO 2 electroreduction to CO catalyzed by immobilized NiPc and its derivatives on diverse surfaces. Specific strategies, the structure-performance relationship and the CO 2 -to-CO reaction mechanism of these NiPc-based electrocatalysts are analyzed. Future opportunities and challenges for this series of powerful heterogeneous electrocatalysts are also highlighted.