CHAPTER 14. CO2 and Organic Carbonates for the Sustainable Valorization of Renewable Compounds

The present chapter collects and describes representative examples from the current literature on the use of CO2 and Organic Carbonates for the Sustainable Valorization of Renewable Compounds. For the reader's convenience, after an introductory section aimed at highlighting both the potential and challenges associated with the chemical upgrading of renewable compounds, topics are organized in three parts surveying the following subjects: (i) catalytic and photocatalytic routes for both the reduction of CO2 and use of CO2 for the carboxylation of C(sp3)–H bonds and bio-based epoxides, and the methylation of amines; (ii) model strategies for carboxylation and alkylation reactions mediated by non-toxic dialkyl carbonates for the valorization of bio-based platform chemicals including glycerol, succinate, and dimethyl-2,5-furandicarboxylate, and renewable lactones, as well as natural polysaccharides (cellulose, starch, and chitin) and lignin; (iii) the sustainable synthesis of bio-polycarbonates and bio-polyurethanes via sequential transesterification/polycondensation reactions with dialkyl carbonates and cycloadditions of CO2 into renewable epoxides.