Controlling the Product Platform of Carbon Dioxide Reduction: Adaptive Catalytic Hydrosilylation of CO2 Using a Molecular Cobalt(II) Triazine Complex

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 59; no. 36; pp. 15674 - 15681
• Main Authors: Cramer, Hanna H., Chatterjee, Basujit, Weyhermüller, Thomas, Werlé, Christophe, Leitner, Walter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.09.2020; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Edition: International ed. in English
• Subjects: Adaptive systems; Carbon dioxide; Catalysts; Chemical industry; Chemical reduction; CO2 reduction; Cobalt; cobalt catalysts; Formic acid; homogeneous catalysis; Hydrosilylation; pincer ligands; Raw materials; Renewable energy; Sustainability; Triazine
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.202004463

The catalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) is considered a major pillar of future sustainable energy systems and chemical industries based on renewable energy and raw materials. Typically, catalysts and catalytic systems are transforming CO2 preferentially or even exclusively to one of the possible reduction levels and are then optimized for this specific product. Here, we report a cobalt‐based catalytic system that enables the adaptive and highly selective transformation of carbon dioxide individually to either the formic acid, the formaldehyde, or the methanol level, demonstrating the possibility of molecular control over the desired product platform. Let it be adaptive: A cobalt‐based molecular system capable of selectively reducing carbon dioxide either to the formic acid, formaldehyde, or methanol level has been developed. This approach shows that molecular control over product formation is possible with suitable catalysts that allow the reaction conditions to be adapted appropriately.