Use of carbon dioxide in chemical syntheses via a lactone intermediate

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is available in almost infinite amounts in our atmosphere and oceans, but its utilisation as feedstock for the chemical industry is often prevented by its thermodynamic stability. Only a few processes based on CO2 as a raw material were realised in a technical scale so far, like the production of urea, methanol or salicylic acid. In the present review mainly catalytic reactions of a lactone platform chemical are described whose production is based on CO2 as a feedstock. The synthesis of this highly functionalised 1 was already invented in the 1970s and was optimised into miniplant‑scale in the meantime. Based on its different functional groups numerous reactions can be carried out starting from this molecule leading to versatile, interesting products: Acids, alcohols or diols as well as aldehydes, amino acids or amines are formed in high yields. Furthermore, esters, silanes or even polymers are obtained using the δ‑lactone as a building block. Thus, by applying efficient catalytic systems which lead to high selectivities a new approach for the utilisation of CO2 as a reasonable feedstock for chemical reactions is described.