A Lysine-Based System for CO2 Capture and Catalytic Utilization to Produce Formates: Irreproducibility and Conflicting Reactivity

Recently, we have investigated the amino acid L-lysine promoted CO2 capture and in-situ hydrogenation to produce formate applying ruthenium- and manganese-based catalysts (Chem. Sci. 2021, 12, 6020, Nature Energy 2022, 7, 438). Noteworthy, following this process CO2 can be captured from ambient air and directly converted to formate (TON>50,000). In this Comment, we report how hydrochloride impurities in the amino acid affect the CO2 capture efficiency and therewith lead to an ostensibly different behaviour of D- and L-lysine in the CO2 capture. The results demonstrate the importance of careful analysis of all educts.