Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2025

Synthesis and Performance Characterizations of Transition Metal Single Atom Catalyst for Electrochemical CO2 Reduction
Published on: April 10, 2018
Synthesis of Benzoic Acids from Electrochemically Reduced CO2 Using Heterogeneous Catalysts
Ha Phan1, Robin Gueret2, Pablo Martínez-Pardo1
1Department of Organic Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.
Abstract:
A method for the synthesis of benzoic acids from aryl iodides using two of the most abundant and sustainable feedstocks, carbon dioxide (CO2) and water, is disclosed. Central to this method is an effective and selective electrochemical reduction of CO2 (eCO2RR) to CO, which mitigates unwanted dehalogenation reactions occurring when H2 is produced via the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In a 3-compartment set-up, CO2 was reduced to CO electrochemically by using a surface-modified silver electrode in aqueous electrolyte. The ex-situ generated CO further underwent hydroxycarbonylation of aryl iodides by MOF-supported palladium catalyst in excellent yields at room temperature. The method avoids the direct handling of hazardous CO gas and gives a wide range of benzoic acid derivatives. Both components of the tandem system can be recycled for several consecutive runs while keeping a high catalytic activity.
Related Concept Videos
Reduction of Benzene to Cyclohexane: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Sulfonation of Benzene
Reactions at the Benzylic Position: Oxidation and Reduction
Benzene to 1,4-Cyclohexadiene: Birch Reduction Mechanism
Alcohols from Carbonyl Compounds: Reduction
Catalytic hydrogenation is similar to the reduction of an alkene or alkyne by adding H2 across the pi bond in the presence of transition metal catalysts like Raney Ni, Pd–C, Pt, or Ru. Aldehydes and ketones can be reduced by this method, often under mild to moderate heat (25–100°C) and...
Reduction of Alkenes: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydrogenation
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...

