Catalysts for the transformation of carbon dioxide and glycerol to formic acid and lactic acid and methods of making the same

A catalyst for the transformation of glycerol and any one CO2, a carbonate salt and a bicarbonate salt, the catalyst comprising a catalytically active compound, or salt thereof, of formula (I):

• M[NHC-R-linker]aLbXc (I)
• where
• M is Fe, Ru, Os, Co, Rh, and Ir;
• NHC is an N-heterocyclic carbene ligand;
• R is an alkylene or an arylene group;
• linker is sulfonate;
• L is a neutral ligand;
• X is an anionic ligand;
• a is an integer ranging from 1 to 3;
• b is an integer ranging from 0 to 3;
• and
• c is an integer ranging from 0 to 3, and
• wherein,
• when M is Fe, Os, Co, Rh or Ir, NHC is selected from the group consisting of 2-(imidazol-1-yl)pyridine, 1-methylimidazole, 2-(1H-imidazol-1-ylmethyl)pyridine, 1,3-di(1H-imidazol-1-yl)benzene, 1,6-di(1H-imidazol-1-yl)benzene, 1,2-bis(imidazol-1′-yl)ethane, N-trimethylsilylimidazole, 1-(2-chlorophenyl)imidazole, 1-(3-bromobenzyl)-1H-imidazole, 1-(3-chlorophenyl)imidazole, 1-(3-fluorophenyl)imidazole, 1-(4-chlorophenyl)imidazole, 1-(4-fluorophenyl)imidazole, 1-(m-tolyl)imidazole, 1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole, 1-(diethoxymethyl)imidazole, 1H-imidazole-1-carboxylic acid-3-butenyl ester, 3-buten-2-yl 1H-imidazole-1-carboxylate, propargyl 1H-imidazole-1-carboxylate, 1-(p-toluenesulfonyl)imidazole, 1-(2-naphthoyl)imidazole, 1-(trifluoroacetyl)imidazole, 1-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)imidazole, 1-(methyldithiocarbonyl)imidazole, 1-(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imidazole, 1-(dimethylsulfamoyl)imidazole, ethyl 1H-imidazole-1-carboxylate, methyl 1H-imidazole-1-carboxylate, 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1H-imidazole, 1-(11-mercaptoundecyl)imidazole, 1-[2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]imidazole, 1-[2-(3-bromophenoxy)ethyl]-1H-imidazole, and 1-(3-hydroxypropyl)-1H-imidazole, and
• when M is Ru, NHC is selected from the group consisting of 2-(imidazol-1-yl)pyridine, 2-(1H-imidazol-1-ylmethyl)pyridine, 1,3-di(1H-imidazol-1-yl benzene, 1,6-di(1H-imidazol-1-yl)benzene, and 1,2-bis(imidazol-1′-yl)ethane.