Catalyst development in the context of ring expansion-addition of carbon dioxide to epoxides to give organic carbonates

In the last decade, chemists have increasingly focused on the development of new and more efficient methods for the catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide into value-added organic molecules. Homogeneous catalysis has proved to be a key technology for the conversion of carbon dioxide under particularly mild reaction conditions that meet the increasing societal demands for sustainable chemical processing. In this account article, we focus on the most effective routes developed for ring expansion–addition reaction of carbon dioxide to epoxides mediated by either metal catalysts or organocatalyst systems to give cyclic organic carbonates.