Photocatalytic Carboxylation of Phenyl Halides with CO2 by Metal-Organic Frameworks Materials

Abstract

In this work, important commercial pharmaceutical intermediates, phenylpropionic acid compounds, are successfully obtained by catalyzing the reaction of carbon dioxide with phenyl halides using MOF-5, a typical metal-organic framework (MOF) material. The influence of temperature, pressure, catalyst type and light on the reaction is investigated, and a 90.3% selectivity towards fluorophenylpropionic acid is reached. Significantly, the catalysts are effective for varied benzyl compounds containing different substituent groups. The catalysts are stable and remain active after three cycles.