CO$_2$ Conversion to Esters by Fluoride-mediated Carboxylation of Organosilanes and Halide Derivatives

Xavier Frogneux (1) , Niklas von Wolff (1) , Pierre Thuéry (1) , Guillaume Lefèvre (1) , Thibault Cantat (1)

1 LCMCE - Laboratoire de Chimie Moléculaire et de Catalyse pour l'Energie (ex LCCEF)

The one-step conversion of CO$_2$ to hetero-aromatic esters is presented under metal-free conditions. Using fluoride anions as promoters for C-Si bond activation, pyridyl, furanyl and thiophenyl organosilanes are successfully carboxylated with CO$_2$, in the presence of an electrophile. The mechanism of this unprecedented reaction has been elucidated based on experimental and computational results, which show a unique catalytic influence of CO$_2$ in the C-Si bond activation of pyridylsilanes. The methodology is applied to 18 different esters and it has enabled the incorporation of CO$_2$ to a polyester material, for the first time.

Domains: Chemical Sciences; Material chemistry

Xavier Frogneux, Niklas von Wolff, Pierre Thuéry, Guillaume Lefèvre, Thibault Cantat. CO$_2$ Conversion to Esters by Fluoride-mediated Carboxylation of Organosilanes and Halide Derivatives. Chemistry - A European Journal, 2016, 22, pp.2930-2934. ⟨10.1002/chem.201505092⟩. ⟨cea-01252394⟩