When carbon monoxide transforms into sugar

Synthesising sugars without resorting to photosynthesis or enzymes is a challenge that has just been met by a team from the Paris Institute of Molecular Chemistry and the Coordination

Chemistry Laboratory. Researchers have transformed carbon monoxide (CO) into carbohydrates in water, producing complex oxygenated molecules in a single experimental reactor. The process is based on a two-step synthesis combining an organometallic cobalt-based catalyst and an organic carbene-type catalyst. Formaldehyde, synthesised in a controlled manner, acts solely as an intermediate. This results in sugars such as ribose and glucose. This breakthrough paves the way for the creation of bio-based ingredients made from recycled carbon, provided that no trace of this intermediate is left in the final product and there is no chance of it being released.