Upgrading Carbon Dioxide by Incorporation into Heterocycles

Abstract Carbon dioxide is commonly regarded as the primary greenhouse gas, but from a synthetic standpoint can be utilized as an alternative and sustainable C 1 synthon in organic synthesis rather than a waste. This results in the production of organic carbonates, carboxylic acids, and derivatives. Recently, CO 2 has emerged as an appealing tool for heterocycle synthesis under mild conditions without using stoichiometric amounts of organometallic reducing reagents. This Minireview summarizes recent advances on methodologies for CO 2 incorporation into N‐, O‐, and C‐nucleophiles to provide various heterocycles, including cyclic carbamates, benzoxazine‐2‐one, 4‐hydroxyquinolin‐2‐one, quinazoline‐2,4(1 H,3 H)‐diones, benzimidazolones, α‐alkylidene cyclic carbonate.