A process for methanol prodn. comprises heterolytic cleavage of hydrogen by a frustrated Lewis pair comprising a Lewis acid and a Lewis base; and the hydrogenation of CO2 with the heterolytically cleaved hydrogen to form methanol, whereby the Lewis acid and Lewis base could be sep. mols. or sep. moieties of the same mol. Thus, reacting H2 with an equimolar ratio of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine and B(C6F5)3 gives salt [TMPH][HB(C6F5)3] in which the hydrogen mol. has undergone heterolytic fission; in the second step CO2 is reduced using H2 activated by this frustrated Lewis acid-base pair to give formate, decompn. of which results in methanol. [on SciFinder(R)]
