A Novel Approach to Organic Liquid Co-Catalyzed Photosynthesis of CO

Abstract

The activation of thermodynamically stable CO2 by metal
catalysts or metalloenzymes is necessary for the conversion of
CO2 to chemical feedstocks, which is of major relevance.
Metal-free organ catalysts for application in CO2 activation at
ambient settings have been developed recently, providing new
opportunities for Chemistry of carbon fixing. Here, we detail
ionic liquid-mediated CO2 collection and activation coupled
with photo redox catalysis for CO synthesis. It has been shown
that the activation and reduction of CO2 is profoundly affected
by the chemical nature of the anions and the organic
functional groups on the imidazolium cations of ionic liquids,
as well as the reaction media. By connecting ionic liquid-based
materials with chromophore molecules, this photochemical
pathway offers novel possibilities for carbon fixation by
rationally designed chemical systems, allowing us to overcome
the formidable obstacles in artificial photosynthesis.