Novel and high efficient cycloaddition of CO2 with epoxides to cyclic carbonates over reusable mesoporous KIT-6 supported imidazolium lactate catalyst

Abstract

ABSTRACT. A series of mesoporous KIT-6 supported ionic liquids were prepared and tested as effective and practical catalysts for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates by the cycloaddition of CO2 with epoxides. The effects of type of catalysts, catalyst amount, CO2 pressure, reaction temperature and catalyst stability have also been investigated in detail, the catalyst KIT-6@ILCH3CH(OH)COO(0.6) exhibited excellent activity in good to excellent yields, may be attributed to the synergetic effect between hydroxyl groups and lactate anion of the ionic liquid. In addition, the supported catalyst can be easily recovered and reused for six times still with satisfactory catalytic activity. Moreover, a general synergetic catalytic mechanism for the reaction was proposed. This work introduces a new and highly efficient pathway to explore the supported ionic liquids for the chemical fixation of carbon dioxide.                 KEY WORDS: Mesoporous KIT-6, Ionic liquid, High efficient, Carbon dioxide, Cyclic carbonates, Recyclable catalyst   Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2022, 36(2), 433-450.                                                                DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v36i2.16