In this mini-review, we provide an overview of recent computational studies on homogeneous transition metal-catalyzed carbon-carbon bond formation with CO2. We cover substitution and addition reactions involving different metals (mainly Ni, Rh, Cu) and substrates (alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, arenes) with focus on the mechanistic details. The CO2 insertion step is generally found to be rate-limiting. ...

The mechanistic details of the (^PhBPE)Co-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of enamides are investigated using computational and experimental approaches. Four mechanistic possibilities are compared: a direct Co(0)/Co(II) redox path, a metathesis pathway, a nonredox Co(II) mechanism featuring an azametallacycle, and a possible enamide−imine tautomerization pathway. The results indicate ...

The asymmetric Rh‐catalyzed hydrocarboxylation of α,β‐unsaturated carbonyl compounds was originally developed by Mikami and co‐workers but gives only moderate enantiomeric excesses. In order to understand the factors controlling the enantioselectivity and to propose novel ligands for this reaction, we have used computational and experimental methods to study the Rh‐catalyzed hydrocarboxylation with ...

Nitroxides are widely used as probes and polarization transfer agents in spectroscopy and imaging. These applications require high stability towards reducing biological environments, as well as beneficial relaxation properties. While the latter is provided by spirocyclic groups on the nitroxide scaffold, such systems are not in themselves robust under reducing conditions. In this work, we introduce ...

Carbon isotope labelling of bioactive molecules is essential for accessing the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of new drug entities. Aryl carboxylic acids represent an important class of structural motifs ubiquitous in pharmaceutically active molecules and are ideal targets for the installation of a radioactive tag employing isotopically labelled CO₂. However, direct isotope ...

A range of hitherto unexplored biomass‐derived chemicals have been evaluated as new sustainable solvents for a large variety of CO₂‐based carboxylation reactions. Known biomass‐derived solvents (biosolvents) are also included in the study and the results are compared with commonly used solvents for the reactions. Biosolvents can be efficiently applied in a variety of carboxylation reactions, ...

Iridium chemistry is versatile and widespread, with superior performance for reaction types such as enantioselective hydrogenation and C−H activation. In order to gain insight into the mechanistic details of such systems, density functional theory (DFT) studies are often employed. But how accurate is DFT for modeling iridium-mediated transformations in solution? We have evaluated how well DFT ...

The development of green Buchwald–Hartwig aminations has long been considered challenging, due to the high sensitivity of the reaction to the environment. Here we show that food-grade and waste vegetable oils, triglycerides originating from animals, and natural waxes can serve as excellent green solvents for Buchwald–Hartwig amination. We further demonstrate that amphiphiles and trace ingredients ...

Hydrogenation catalysts involving abundant base metals such as cobalt or iron are promising alternatives to precious metal systems. Despite rapid progress in this field, base metal catalysts do not yet achieve the activity and selectivity levels of their precious metal counterparts. Rational improvement of base metal complexes is facilitated by detailed knowledge about their mechanisms and ...

The insertion of carbon dioxide into metal element σ-bonds is an important elementary step in many catalytic reactions for carbon dioxide valorization. Here, the insertion of carbon dioxide into a family of group 10 alkyl complexes of the type (^RPBP)M(CH₃) (^RPBP = B(NCH₂PR₂)₂C₆H₄⁻; R = Cy or ^tBu; ...