The iridium(III) catalyzed hydrogenation of carbon dioxide under basic conditions was studied with density functional theory. It was found that the insertion of CO2 into an Ir-H bond proceeds via a two-step mechanism. The rate-limiting step was calculated to be the regeneration of the iridium(III) trihydride intermediate, and the overall barrier for the reaction was calculated to 26.1 kcal mol(-1). The formation of the iridium trihydride proceeds via formation of a cationic Ir(H)(2)(H-2) complex at which the base abstracts a proton from the dihydrogen ligand. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.