Exovinylene Cyclic Carbonates: Multifaceted CO2-Based Building Blocks for Modern Chemistry and Polymer Science

Abstract

Carbon dioxide is a renewable, inexhaustible, and cheap alternative to fossil resources for the production of fine chemicals and plastics. It can notably be converted into exovinylene cyclic carbonates, unique synthons gaining momentum for the preparation of an impressive range of important organic molecules and functional polymers, in reactions proceeding with 100 % atom economy under mild operating conditions in most cases. This Review summarizes the recent advances in their synthesis with particular attention on describing the catalysts needed for their preparation and discussing the unique reactivity of these CO2-based heterocycles for the construction of diverse organic building blocks and (functional) polymers. We also discuss the challenges and the future perspectives in the field.