Mechanochemical vs Wet Approach for Directing CO2 Capture toward Various Carbonate and Bicarbonate Networks

Catalytic Hydrogenation of CO2 by Direct Air Capture to Valuable C1 Products Using Homogenous Catalysts

Growing atmospheric CO2 concentrations are a global concern and a primary factor contributing to global warming. Development of integrated CO2 capture and conversion protocols is necessary to mitigate this alarming challenge. Though CO2 hydrogenation to produce formic acid and methanol has seen many strides in the past decades, most studies utilize pure CO2 for this transformation. The CO2 concentration in the atmosphere stands at 400 ppm and reports that utilize direct air capture as the strategy to capture CO2 and utilize it for production of formic acid and methanol have only been reported in the past few years. This perspective summarizes such reports with a focus on the CO2-capturing additive, reaction solvent, and the molecular catalyst used to affect the transformation.

Mechanochemical Synthesis of Molecular Chemoreceptors

The design of environmentally friendly methods for synthesizing molecular receptors is an expanding area within applied organic chemistry. This work systematically summarizes advances in the mechanochemical synthesis of molecular chemoreceptors. It discusses key achievements related to the synthesis of chemoreceptors containing azine, Schiff base, thiosemicarbazone, hydrazone, rhodamine 6G, imide, or amide moieties. Additionally, it highlights the application potential of mechanochemically synthesized molecular chemoreceptors in the recognition of ions and small molecules, along with a discussion of the mechanisms of detection processes.

Meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals with Mechanochemistry

Chemistry traditionally relies on reactions in solution, but this method is increasingly problematic due to the scale of chemical processes and their economic and environmental impact. Handling residual chemical waste, including solvents, incurs significant costs and environmental pressure. Conversely, novel chemical approaches are needed to address pressing societal issues such as climate change, energy scarcity, food insecurity, and waste pollution. Mechanochemistry, a sustainable chemistry discipline that uses mechanical action to induce chemical reactivity without bulk solvents, is a hot topic in academic research on sustainable and green chemistry. Given its fundamentally different working principles from solution chemistry, mechanochemistry offers more efficient chemical processes and the opportunity to design new chemical reactions. Mechanochemistry has a profound impact on many urgent issues facing our society and it is now necessary to use mechanochemistry to address them. This Minireview aims to provide a guide for using mechanochemistry to meet the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), thereby contributing to a prosperous society. Detailed analysis shows that mechanochemistry connects with most UN SDGs and offers more cost-efficiency than other approaches together with a superior environmental performance.

Non-redox reactivity of V(ii) and Fe(ii) formamidinates towards CO2 resulting in the formation of novel M(ii) carbamates

Multiple CO2 insertions into the M–N bonds of V(ii) and Fe(ii) bis(formamidinates) led to the isolation of three novel carbamates. The CO2 insertion effectivity depended on the solvent used and the metal centre's coordination sphere geometry.