CO₂ (De)Activation in Carboxylation Reactions: A Case Study Using Grignard Reagents and Nucleophilic Bases

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is an intrinsically stable molecule. However, its reactivity toward nucleophilic bases has constituted an appealing characteristic for applications such as CO₂ capture and functionalization. To shed light on the role of nucleophilic bases in CO₂ functionalization, we performed some mechanistic studies using nitrogen-containing bases as an additive-in catalytic amounts-for carboxylation reactions of Grignard reagents. Our kinetic analysis and in situ infrared spectroscopy revealed the role of nucleophilic bases, particularly that of DBU (1,8-diazabicycloundec-7-ene), in CO₂ (de)activation for carboxylation reactions.