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Updated: May 27, 2026

Versatile CO2 Transformations into Complex Products: A One-pot Two-step Strategy
Published on: November 9, 2019
Copper-mediated reduction of CO2 with pinB-SiMe2Ph via CO2 insertion into a copper-silicon bond
Christian Kleeberg1, Man Sing Cheung, Zhenyang Lin
1Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Technische Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig, Hagenring 30, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany. ch.kleeberg@tu-braunschweig.de
Abstract:
Reaction of [(IPr)Cu-OtBu] (1) with pinB-SiMe(2)Ph (2) leads to the Cu-silyl complex [(IPr)Cu-SiMe(2)Ph] (3). Insertion of CO(2) into the Cu-Si bond of 3 is followed by transformation of the resulting silanecarboxy complex [(IPr)Cu-O(2)CSiMe(2)Ph] (4) to the silanolate complex [(IPr)Cu-OSiMe(2)Ph] (5) via extrusion of CO. As 5 reacts readily with 2 to regenerate 3, a catalytic CO(2) reduction to CO is feasible. The individual steps were studied by in situ(13)C NMR spectroscopy of a series of stoichiometric reactions. Complexes 3, 4, and 5 were isolated and fully characterized, including single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Interestingly, the catalytic reduction of CO(2) using silylborane 2 as a stoichiometric reducing agent leads not only to CO and pinB-O-SiMe(2)Ph but also to PhMe(2)Si-CO(2)-SiMe(2)Ph as an additional reduction product.
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