Biomimetic Frustrated Lewis Pair Catalysts for Hydrogenation of CO to Methanol at Low Temperatures

The industrial production of methanol through CO hydrogenation using the Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst requires harsh conditions, and the development of new catalysts with low operating temperatures is highly desirable. In this study, organic biomimetic FLP catalysts with good tolerance to CO poison are theoretically designed. The base-free catalytic reaction contains the 1,1-addition of CO into a formic acid intermediate and the hydrogenation of the formic acid intermediate into methanol. Low-energy spans (25.6, 22.1, and 20.6 kcal/mol) are achieved, indicating that CO can be hydrogenated into methanol at low temperatures. The new extended aromatization–dearomatization effect involving multiple rings is proposed to effectively facilitate the rate-determining CO 1,1-addition step, and a new CO activation model is proposed for organic catalysts.