Zinc triazole-appended dipyrromethene complex as a new catalyst for the carbonation reaction

Abstract

Triazole-Appended Dipyrromethenes (TADs) constitute a highly tunable and versatile family of ligands. Thus, well designed 1:1 / Zn:L complexes incorporating a macrocyclic TAD member were proven very efficient in the carbonation of epoxides at low CO2 pressure (1 bar) and 100 [Formula: see text]. Interestingly, the non-macrocyclized analogue was catalytically inactive in the presence of Zn(OAc)2 and dimerized instantly. Hence, engineering a structure preventing the dimerization was proven critical to restore the catalytic activity of the zinc complex.