Abstract:
Carbon dioxide is present in the Earths atmosphere and is naturally a part of the
carbon cycle. Its increasing concentration in the atmosphere is a matter of serious
concern. Apart from attempts to reduce its release into the atmosphere at source,
an alternate solution is to use it as a renewable source similar to sunlight, water,
wind, etc. It is easily available and has advantages like it is non-toxic, abundant
and economical. As a carbon source, it can be converted into useful compounds for
diverse applications. The constraint in the chemical modification of carbon dioxide
is its stability. Being the most oxidised form of carbon, it is chemically quite inert
and stable both thermodynamically and kinetically. Thus, a metal catalyst or high
energy source is required to activate it, which makes the production of chemicals
from CO2 expensive relative to traditional synthetic methods. Research on the
activation of carbon dioxide could make the former processes economically viable.
