Utilization of carbon dioxide in heterogeneous catalytic synthesis

Utilization of carbon dioxide as a C1 building block in chemical synthesis has been stimulated mainly by environmental considerations and its large-scale availability. Catalysis provides several opportunities for using CO2 in chemical synthesis. The present state of these efforts in heterogeneous catalysis is briefly surveyed, placing special emphasis on more recent developments in the syntheses of methanol, methylamines and formic acid derivatives, and the production of synthesis gas.