CO2 conversion to formamide using a fluoride catalyst and metallic silicon as a reducing agent

Abstract

The reductive functionalization of CO2 to value-added chemicals using powdered silicon as a reducing agent is a promising sustainable route, but the behavior of employed fluoride catalysts remains largely unknown. Here, the authors use tetrabutylammonium fluoride to catalyze the conversion of a variety of amines to amides with CO2 and H2O reduced by metallic silicon recovered from solar panel production waste and show that the catalyst effectively oxidizes Si atoms on both the surface and interior of the powdered silicon particles.