Low-Temperature Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol with a Homogeneous Cobalt Catalyst

Herein we describe the first homogeneous non-noble metal catalyst for the hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol. The catalyst is formed in situ from [Co(acac)(3)], Triphos, and HNTf2 and enables the reaction to be performed at 100 degrees C without a decrease in activity. Kinetic studies suggest an inner-sphere mechanism, and in situ NMR and MS experiments reveal the formation of the active catalyst through slow removal of the acetylacetonate ligands.