Recent progress in CO2 conversion into organic chemicals by molecular catalysis

The chemical conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into high-value chemicals or fuels is exceedingly attractive due to its green and sustainable features. However, practical technologies on scale utilization of CO2 are few, and nearly no new industrial processes on the topic have emerged over the years. The current bottlenecks, e.g., low efficiency and atom economy, seriously restrict the process development. In recent studies, the catalytic activation of CO2 and/or substrate has been revealed to play a significant role in the promotion of CO2 functionalization to valuable chemicals, including the representative reactions of epoxides/propargyl alcohols/propargylamines with CO2, multicomponent cascade reactions, N-formylation of amines with CO2 and hydrosilanes, and unactivated C-H bond carboxylation. Herein, recent significant advances (2017-2022) on the effective chemical fixation of CO2 through molecular activation or synergistic activation strategies in homogeneous systems are presented. The superiority of molecular activation in thermochemical catalysis is shown in a wide range of CO2 transformations. Through CO2/substrate activation and catalysis with well-developed metal or organocatalysts, valuable chemicals are successfully attained with great efficiency. The new progress will provide significant guidance to promote the effective and sustainable utilization of CO2.

Automated summary

The chemical conversion of CO2 into valuable chemicals or fuels is highly attractive for its green and sustainable features. However, practical technologies for CO2 utilization are limited, and there have been no significant industrial developments in this area. Recent studies have shown that catalytic activation of CO2 and/or substrates plays a significant role in promoting CO2 functionalization. Advances in molecular activation and synergistic activation strategies have led to the successful production of valuable chemicals with high efficiency.