The steps of activating a prospective CO2 hydrogenation catalyst with combined CO2 capture and reduction

Abstract

Combining CO₂ capture and reduction is an efficient strategy to alleviate the high energy requirements for processing CO₂ prior to reduction. Catalytic hydrogenation of CO₂ captured as alkylcarbonate has previously been reported, but it's ambiguous whether the alkylcarbonate is reduced, as it is in dynamic equilibrium with neutral CO₂ in solution. New studies are presented to elucidate the reduction mechanisms of CO₂, and CO₂ that is captured in solution using a homogeneous ruthenium hydride complex.