Biomass-derived γ-valerolactone as an efficient solvent and catalyst for the transformation of CO2 to formamides

Abstract

Efficient conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into valuable chemicals is a very attractive topic. Herein, we conducted the first work on the utilization of biomass-derived γ-valerolactone (GVL) as the solvent and catalyst for transformation of CO₂ with various primary and secondary amines in the presence of phenylsilane (PhSiH₃), and the corresponding desired formamides were produced with high yields without any additional catalyst. Systematic studies indicated that the lactone structure of GVL played a key role in the formation of the active silyl formates and the activation of N–H bonds in amines, thus leading to the excellent performance of GVL for the catalytic reactions.