Inserting CO2 into Terminal Alkynes via Bis-(NHC)-Metal Complexes

The direct interaction between CO2 and terminal alkynes in the presence of bis-(NHC)-metal catalysts at ambient conditions was studied. Two Cu and Ag-based bis-N-heterocyclic carbene Transition Metal catalysts were synthesized. The (NHC)2-Ag complex showed a better catalytic performance towards the carboxylation of terminal alkynes in comparison with the copper analogue even for the conversion of acetylene gas. The optimized conditions for the carboxylation are: the use of Cs2CO3 as additive, one atmosphere CO2 and room temperature using 1% mol catalyst. Mechanistic insight into the reaction mechanism is obtained by means of state-of-the-art first principles calculations.