Reply to the 'Comment on "CO2 as oxidant: an unusual light-assisted catalyst free oxidation of aldehydes to acids under mild conditions"' by S. R. Khan, S. Saini, K. Naresh, A. Kumari, V. Aniya, P. K. Khatri, A. Ray and S. L. Jain, Chem. Commun., 2022, 58, 2208.

Our recent Communication (S. R. Khan et al., Chem. Commun., 2022, 58, 2208) suggested that CO2 can be used as a potential oxidant under light irradiation without using any catalyst for the oxidation of aldehydes to acids at room temperature. The Comment based on the published literature on the catalytic oxidation of aromatic aldehydes by CO2 and thermodynamical data argued on the realism of the experimental data.

CO2 as oxidant: an unusual light-assisted catalyst free oxidation of aldehydes to acids under mild conditions.

A novel visible light-driven catalyst-free oxidation of aldehydes using CO2 both in batch and flow photoreactors to get corresponding acids along with the formation of CO in the effluent gas is described.

Light-induced synthesis of unsymmetrical organic carbonates from alcohols, methanol and CO2 under ambient conditions.

The present work describes the first visible light-assisted, metal-free and organic base 1,1,3,3-tetramethyl guanidine (TMG) mediated synthesis of unsymmetrical methyl aryl/alkyl carbonates from the reaction of alcohols, methanol, and CO2 in high to excellent yields under atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature conditions.