Issue 7, 2009

MOF-5/n-Bu4NBr: an efficient catalyst system for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and CO2 under mild conditions

Abstract

The development of efficient heterogeneous catalysts for the cycloaddition of CO2 with epoxides to produce five-membered cyclic carbonates under mild reaction conditions is of great importance. In this work, the coupling reaction of CO2 with propylene oxide (PO) to produce propylene carbonate (PC) catalyzed by MOF-5 (metal-organic frameworks) in the presence of quaternary ammonium salts (Me4NCl, Me4NBr, Et4NBr, n-Pr4NBr, n-Bu4NBr) was studied in different conditions. It was discovered that MOF-5 and quaternary ammonium salts had excellent synergetic effect in promoting the reaction, and the MOF-5/n-Bu4NBr catalytic system was the most efficient among them. The optimal temperature for the reaction was around 50 °C. The reaction could be completed in 6 h at low CO2 pressure with very high selectivity. A decrease of the yield of PC was not noticeable after MOF-5 was reused three times, indicating that the MOF-5 was stable. The MOF-5/n-Bu4NBr catalytic system was also very active and selective for the cycloaddition of CO2 with other epoxides, such as glycidyl phenyl ether, epichlorohydrin and styrene oxide. The mechanism for the coupling reaction is also discussed.

Graphical abstract: MOF-5/n-Bu4NBr: an efficient catalyst system for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and CO2 under mild conditions

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
06 Feb 2009
Accepted
07 Apr 2009
First published
20 Apr 2009

Green Chem., 2009,11, 1031-1036

MOF-5/n-Bu4NBr: an efficient catalyst system for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and CO2 under mild conditions

J. Song, Z. Zhang, S. Hu, T. Wu, T. Jiang and B. Han, Green Chem., 2009, 11, 1031 DOI: 10.1039/B902550B

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