Cobalt complexes with α-amino acid ligands catalyze the incorporation of CO into cyclic carbonates.

Arguably one of the largest research areas involving carbon dioxide (CO) fixation is the coupling of CO to epoxides to form cyclic carbonates and polycarbonates. In this sense, there is an ever-increasing demand for the development of higher-performing catalytic systems that could counterbalance sustainability and energy efficiency in the production of cyclic carbonates. The use of abundant first-row transition metals combined with naturally occurring amino acids may be an ideal catalytic platform to fulfill this demand.