Continuous‐Flow Hydrogenation of CO2 Using Molecular Catalysts

Hydrogenation of CO2 to formic acid (HCO2H) and methanol (MeOH) provides access to valuable products in a low-carbon economy. The development of effective processes for the production of pure HCO2H is still in progress. Hydrogenation of CO2 to MeOH is thermodynamically much more favorable (DG= 9.5 kJ/mole). However, homogeneous catalysts were kinetically not capable of reducing CO2 to MeOH until recently. In the MeOH process, the first organometallic catalyst being capable of the CO2 reduction to MeOH is immobilized in a stationary ionic liquid (IL) phase. The MeOH formed is continuously stripped from the IL phase by excess reaction gases.