Transition metal-mediated or catalyzed hydrocarboxylation of olefins with CO2

The development of new methods to incorporate carbon dioxide into organic molecules is of special significance and interest as it is an abundantly available and recyclable C1 source. Catalytic hydrocarboxylation of readily available olefins with CO₂ represents a highly atom- and step-economic approach toward transformations of CO₂ into widely-used aliphatic acids. However, due to relatively lower reactivity of them, this goal has been always a formidable challenge. Herein we review relevant progress on transition metal-mediated or catalyzed methodologies toward the desired hydrocarboxylation, with an emphasis on the development of two main pathways, including transition-metal-catalyzed cyclometallation of olefin and CO₂ and direct addition of alkylmetal to CO₂.