ZnBr2/DMF as simple and highly active Lewis acid-base catalysts for the cycloaddition of CO2 to propylene oxide

Shifa Zhong, Lin Liang, Bo Liu, Jianmin Sun

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66 Scopus citations

Abstract

It is a great challenge for developing effective and simple catalysts for the cycloaddition of CO2 to epoxides to form cyclic carbonates. In this report, the simple ZnBr2/DMF catalysts were found highly effective to this transformation and a high TOF of 1170 h-1 and 100% selectivity to propylene carbonate were obtained at 150 °C and 3 MPa of CO2. Specially, the catalysts possessed merits of cheapness, effectivity and facile availability, which were very attractive from the viewpoint of industrial applications. Moreover, the effects of various reaction factors, including different Lewis acids and bases used, temperature, CO 2 pressure, reaction time and the amount of DMF, were also discussed in detail. Besides, a possible catalytic mechanism for the cycloaddition of CO2 to propylene oxide was proposed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)75-79
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of CO2 Utilization
Volume6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Acid-base catalysts
  • DMF
  • Propylene carbonate

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