Manganese carbonyl complexes are promising electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction, but the intricate mechanisms are difficult to probe. Here, vibrational sum-frequency generation spectroscopy is used to detect the transient catalytic intermediates, providing experimental evidence for the mechanism and demonstrating the utility of the analytical approach for molecular electrocatalytic processes in general.
- Gaia Neri
- James. J. Walsh
- Alexander J. Cowan
