Novel Technological Paradigm of the Application of Carbon Dioxide as a C1 Synthon in Organic Chemistry: I. Synthesis of Hydroxybenzoic Acids, Methanol, and Formic Acid

The uncontrollable growth of CO2 concentration in the Earth atmosphere is a cause of ever-accelerating global warming. The warming up of the atmosphere and the increase in the partial pressure of CO2 induce multiple negative catastrophic phenomena on a global scale. On the other hand, carbon dioxide provides a unique and practically inexhaustible source of synthetic carbon (C1 synthon). Well-funded comprehensive studies of the processes of CO2 transformation into chemically important products, such as carboxylic acids, linear organic carbonates, urea and its derivatives, methanol, dimethyl ether, industrial gases (CO, methane), higher hydrocarbons, and products of fine organic synthesis, have been carried out in various countries for more than recent 20 years to mitigate CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. In Russia, this problem has remained virtually unnoticed. Therefore, in this review the authors set the task to draw the attention of chemists to the possibilities of using CO2 in synthesis and to the achievements that have been made in this area, particularly in the synthesis of hydroxybenzoic acids, methanol, and formic acid.

Automated summary

The uncontrollable growth of CO2 concentration in the Earth atmosphere is a cause of ever-accelerating global warming. In this review, the authors aim to draw the attention of chemists to the possibilities of using CO2 in synthesis and the achievements made in this area, particularly in the synthesis of hydroxybenzoic acids, methanol, and formic acid.