Catalytic Hydrogenation of CO₂ by Direct Air Capture to Valuable C1 Products Using Homogenous Catalysts

Growing atmospheric CO₂ concentrations are a global concern and a primary factor contributing to global warming. Development of integrated CO₂ capture and conversion protocols is necessary to mitigate this alarming challenge. Though CO₂ hydrogenation to produce formic acid and methanol has seen many strides in the past decades, most studies utilize pure CO₂ for this transformation. The CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere stands at 400 ppm and reports that utilize direct air capture as the strategy to capture CO₂ and utilize it for production of formic acid and methanol have only been reported in the past few years. This perspective summarizes such reports with a focus on the CO₂-capturing additive, reaction solvent, and the molecular catalyst used to affect the transformation.