Catalytic Hydrogenation of Cyclic Carbonates: A Practical Approach from CO₂ and Epoxides to Methanol and Diols

Abstract

Two birds with one stone: The simultaneous production of two important bulk chemicals, methanol and ethylene glycol, from CO2 and ethylene oxide has been achieved under mild conditions by the highly efficient homogeneous catalytic hydrogenation of ethylene carbonate in the presence of a (PNP)RuII catalyst (see scheme). Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.