Hydrogenation of CO -Derived Carbonates and Polycarbonates to Methanol and Diols by Metal-Ligand Cooperative Manganese Catalysis.

The first base-metal-catalysed hydrogenation of CO -derived carbonates to alcohols is presented. The reaction proceeds under mild conditions in the presence of a well-defined manganese complex with a loading as low as 0.25 mol %. The non-precious-metal homogenous catalytic system provides an indirect route for the conversion of CO into methanol with the co-production of value-added (vicinal) diols in yields of up to 99 %. Experimental and computational studies indicate a metal-ligand cooperative catalysis mechanism.