Utilizing CO(2) as a Reactant for C(3) Oxygenate Production via Tandem Reactions

[Image: see text] One possible solution to closing the loop on carbon emissions is using CO(2) as the carbon source to generate high-value, multicarbon products. In this Perspective, we describe four tandem reaction strategies for converting CO(2) into C(3) oxygenated hydrocarbon products (i.e., propanal and 1-propanol), using either ethane or water as the hydrogen source: (1) thermocatalytic CO(2)-assisted dehydrogenation and reforming of ethane to ethylene, CO, and H(2), followed by heterogeneous hydroformylation, (2) one-pot conversion of CO(2) and ethane using plasma-activated reactions in combination with thermocatalysis, (3) electrochemical CO(2) reduction to ethylene, CO, and H(2), followed by thermocatalytic hydroformylation, and (4) electrochemical CO(2) reduction to CO, followed by electrochemical CO reduction to C(3) oxygenates. We discuss the proof-of-concept results and key challenges for each tandem scheme, and we conduct a comparative analysis of the energy costs and prospects for net CO(2) reduction. The use of tandem reaction systems can provide an alternative approach to traditional catalytic processes, and these concepts can be further extended to other chemical reactions and products, thereby opening new opportunities for innovative CO(2) utilization technologies.