More Than Just a Reagent: The Rise of Renewable Organohydrides for Catalytic Reduction of Carbon Dioxide

Stoichiometric carbon dioxide reduction to highly reduced C1 molecules, such as formic acid (2e- ), formaldehyde (4e- ), methanol (6e- ) or even most-reduced methane (8e- ), has been successfully achieved by using organosilanes, organoboranes, and frustrated Lewis Pairs (FLPs) in the presence of suitable catalyst. The development of renewable organohydride compounds could be the best alternative in this regard as they have shown promise for the transfer of hydride directly to CO2 . Reduction of CO2 by two electrons and two protons to afford formic acid by using renewable organohydride molecules has recently been investigated by various groups. However, catalytic CO2 reduction to ≥2e- -reduced products by using renewable organohydride-based molecules has rarely been explored. This Minireview summarizes important findings in this regard, encompassing both stoichiometric and catalytic CO2 reduction.