Gas-phase CO_(2)activation with single electrons,metal atoms,clusters,and molecules

In this review,the history and outlook of gas-phase CO_(2)activation using single electrons,metal atoms,clusters(mainly metal hydride clusters),and molecules are discussed on both of the experimental and theoretical fronts.Although the development of bulk solid-state materials for the activation and conversion of CO_(2)into value-added products have enjoyed great success in the past several decades,this review focuses only on gas-phase studies,because isolated,well-defined gas-phase systems are ideally suited for high-resolution experiments using state-of-the-art spectrometric and spectroscopic techniques,and for simulations employing modern quantum theoretical methods.The unmatched high complementarity and comparability of experiment and theory in the case of gas-phase investigations bear an enormous potential in providing insights in the reactions of CO_(2)activation at the atomic level.In all of these examples,the reduction and bending of the inert neutral CO_(2)molecule is the critical step determined by the frontier orbitals of reaction participants.Based on the results and outlook summarized in this review,we anticipate that studies of gas-phase CO_(2)activations will be an avenue rich with opportunities for the rational design of novel catalysts based on the knowledge obtained on the atomic level.