P123-CoMgAl nanocomposite for sustainable and high-conversion epoxide ring-opening polymerization

Abstract

Abstract The ring-opening polymerization lays the foundation for synthesizing polypropylene glycol (PPG). Nevertheless, homogeneous alkali catalysts generally necessitate intricate posttreatments, hampering green synthesis and ensuring environmental sustainability. Here, we develop a heterogeneous epoxide polymerization method based on a P123-modified nanocomposite layered double oxide (CoMgAl-LDO (P123)). Benefiting from the designable and self-assembled P123 micelles, CoMgAl-LDO (P123) yields intergranular gaps and consistent mesoporous channels for effective catalysis. Consequently, CoMgAl-LDO (P123) has a large surface-to-volume ratio of 190.0 m2 g− 1 and a pore volume of 1.0 cm3 g− 1. More importantly, the epoxide catalytic conversion approaches 96.3%, which is higher than the 92% conversion of other solid catalysts. Our strategy addresses the trade-off issue that alkali catalysts face in terms of sustainability and operational complexity, holding great promise in green chemistry.