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Updated: Dec 23, 2025

Versatile CO2 Transformations into Complex Products: A One-pot Two-step Strategy
Published on: November 9, 2019
Controlling the Product Platform of Carbon Dioxide Reduction: Adaptive Catalytic Hydrosilylation of CO2 Using a
Hanna H Cramer1,2, Basujit Chatterjee1, Thomas Weyhermüller1
1Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, Stiftstr. 34-36, 45470, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany.
Abstract:
The catalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) is considered a major pillar of future sustainable energy systems and chemical industries based on renewable energy and raw materials. Typically, catalysts and catalytic systems are transforming CO2 preferentially or even exclusively to one of the possible reduction levels and are then optimized for this specific product. Here, we report a cobalt-based catalytic system that enables the adaptive and highly selective transformation of carbon dioxide individually to either the formic acid, the formaldehyde, or the methanol level, demonstrating the possibility of molecular control over the desired product platform.
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