Transformation of carbon dioxide with homogeneous transition-metal catalysts: A molecular solution to a global challenge?

A plethora of methods have been developed over the years so that carbon dioxide can be used as a reactant in organic synthesis. Given the abundance of this compound, its utilization in synthetic chemistry, particularly on an industrial scale, is still at a rather low level. In the last 35 years, considerable research has been performed to find catalytic routes to transform CO ₂ into carboxylic acids, esters, lactones, and polymers in an economic way. This Review presents an overview of the available homogeneous catalytic routes that use carbon dioxide as a C ₁ carbon source for the synthesis of industrial products as well as fine chemicals.