Biodegradable Polycarbonate Synthesis by Copolymerization of Carbon Dioxide with Epoxides Using a Heterogeneous Zinc Complex

As a means for the chemical fixation of carbon dioxide and the synthesis of biodegradable polycarbonates, copolymerizations of carbon dioxide with various epoxides such as cyclohexene oxide (CHO), cyclopetene oxide, 4-vinyl-1-cyclohexene-1,2epoxide, phenyl glycidyl ether, allyl glycidyl ether, propylene oxide, butene oxide, hexene oxide, octene oxide, and 1-chloro-2,3-epoxypropane were investigated in the presence of a double metal cyanide catalyst (DMC). The DMC catalyst was prepared by reacting K₃Co(CN)₆ with ZnCl₂, together with tertiary butyl alcohol and poly(tetramethylene ether glycol) as complexing reagents and was characterized by various spectroscopic methods. The DMC catalyst showed high activity (526.2 g-polymer/g-Zn atom) for CHO/CO₂ (P_CO2 = 140 psi) copolymerization at 80 °C, to yield biodegradable aliphatic polycarbonates of narrow polydispersity (M_w/M_n = 1.67) and moderate molecular weight (M_n = 8900). The DMC catalyst also showed high activities with different CO₂ reactivities for other epoxides to yield various aliphatic polycarbonates with narrow polydispersity.     

Copolymerization of cyclohexene oxide with CO2 by using intramolecular dinuclear zinc catalysts

The intramolecular dinuclear zinc complexes generated in situ from the reaction of multidentate semi-azacrown ether ligands with Et(2)Zn, followed by treatment with an alcohol additive, were found to promote the copolymerization of CO(2) and cyclohexene oxide (CHO) with completely alternating polycarbonate selectivity and high efficiency. With this type of novel initiator, the copolymerization could be accomplished under mild conditions at 1 atm pressure of CO(2), which represents a significant advantage over most catalytic systems developed for this reaction so far. The copolymerization reaction was demonstrated to be a living process as a result of the narrow polydispersities and the linear increase in the molecular weight with conversion of CHO. In addition, the solid-state structure of the dinuclear zinc complex was characterized by X-ray crystal structural analysis and can be considered as a model of the active catalyst. On the basis of the various efforts made to understand the mechanisms of the catalytic reaction, including MALDI-TOF mass analysis of the copolymers' end-groups, the effect of alcohol additives on the catalysis and CO(2) pressure on the conversion of CHO, as well as the kinetic data gained from in situ IR spectroscopy, a plausible catalytic cycle for the present reaction system is outlined. The copolymerization is initiated by the insertion of CO(2) into the Zn--OEt bond to afford a carbonate-ester-bridged complex. The dinuclear zinc structure of the catalyst remains intact throughout the copolymerization. The bridged zinc centers may have a synergistic effect on the copolymerization reaction; one zinc center could activate the epoxide through its coordination and the second zinc atom may be responsible for carbonate propagation by nucleophilic attack by the carbonate ester on the back side of the cis-epoxide ring to afford the carbonate. The mechanistic implication of this is particularly important for future research into the design of efficient and practical catalysts for the copolymerization of epoxides with CO(2.).     

Efficient CO2 Insertion and Reduction Catalyzed by a Terminal Zinc Hydride Complex

The terminal zinc hydride complex [Tntm]ZnH ( 2 ; Tntm=tris(6‐tert‐butyl‐3‐thiopyridazinyl)methanide) is an efficient hydrosilylation catalyst of CO₂ at room temperature without the need of Lewis acidic additives. The inherent electrophilicity of the system leads to selective formation of the monosilylated product (MeO)₃SiO₂CH (at room temperature with a TOF of 22.2 h^?1 and at 45 °C with a TOF of 66.7 h^?1). In absence of silanes, the intermediate formate complex [Tntm]Zn(O₂CH) ( 3 ) is quantitatively formed within 5 min. All complexes were fully characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analyses. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal a high positive charge on zinc and the increased preference of the ligand to adopt a κ³‐coordination mode.     

Graphene Oxide Supported Molybdenum Cluster: First Heterogenized Homogeneous Catalyst for the Synthesis of Dimethylcarbonate from CO2 and Methanol

The octahedral molybdenum cluster‐based compound, Cs₂Mo₆Brⁱ₈Br^a₆ was immobilized on graphene oxide (GO) by using a facile approach. High resolution transmission electron microscopy results revealed that molybdenum clusters were uniformly distributed on the GO nanosheets. Cs₂Mo₆Brⁱ₈Br^a₆ was attached to the GO support via chemical interaction between apical ligands of Mo₆Brⁱ₈Br^a₆ cluster units and oxygen functionalities of GO, as revealed by XPS studies. The developed material was used for the synthesis of dimethyl carbonate by reduction of carbon dioxide. The synthesized catalyst, that is, GO–Cs₂Mo₆Brⁱ₈Br^a_x, exhibited higher catalytic efficiency than its homogeneous analogue without using dehydrating agent. The catalyst was found to be efficiently recyclable without significant loss of catalytic activity.     

Catalytic Chain Transfer Copolymerization of Propylene Oxide and CO2 using Zinc Glutarate Catalyst

Oligo and poly(propylene ether carbonate)-polyols with molecular weights from 0.8 to over 50 kg/mol and with 60–92 mol % carbonate linkages were synthesized by chain transfer copolymerization of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and propylene oxide (PO) mediated by zinc glutarate. Online-monitoring of the polymerization revealed that the CTA controlled copolymerization has an induction time which is resulting from reversible catalyst deactivation by the CTA. Latter is neutralized after the first monomer additions. The outcome of the chain transfer reaction is a function of the carbonate content, i. e. CO₂ pressure, most likely on account of differences in mobility (diffusion) of the various polymers. Melt viscosities of poly(ether carbonate)diols with a carbonate content between 60 and 92 mol % are reported as function of the molecular weight, showing that the mobility is higher when the ether content is higher. The procedure of PO/CO₂ catalytic chain copolymerization allows tailoring the glass temperature and viscosity.     

A new copolymerization process leading to poly(propylene carbonate) with a highly enhanced yield from carbon dioxide and propylene oxide

Using excessively loaded propylene oxide (PO) as a solvent, the copolymerization of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and PO was carried out with zinc glutarate catalyst, consequently producing poly(propylene carbonate) of high molecular weight in a high yield (64–70 g polymer per gram of catalyst) never achieved before. Both the PO used as solvent and the excessively loaded CO₂ were fully recoverable, respectively, and reusable for their copolymerization, indicating that this is a clean, green polymerization process to convert CO₂ to its polycarbonate. The polymer yield was further improved by scaling up the copolymerization process. Among zinc glutarate catalysts prepared through several synthetic routes, one from zinc oxide delivered the highest yield in the copolymerization. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 1863–1876, 1999     

二氧化碳作为羧化试剂用于羧酸及其衍生物的合成(英文)

二氧化碳是储量丰富、廉价易得且可再生的C1资源,将其催化转化成高附加值精细化学品的研究已经引起了人们的广泛关注.目前,虽然二氧化碳用作初始原料的反应已经工业化的很少,但过去几十年中仍有二十多个具有实际应用前景的二氧化碳参与的新反应被发现,其中以二氧化碳作为羧化试剂合成各种羧酸及其衍生物的反应为突出代表.本文综述了过渡金属催化合成羧酸及其衍生物的二氧化碳与多种碳亲核试剂、碳氢键以及碳碳多重键化合物的反应,并总结了无过渡金属参与或有机小分子催化条件下将二氧化碳转化成羧酸及其衍生物的反应.     

An Air‐ and Water‐Tolerant Zinc Hydride Cluster That Reacts Selectively With CO2

The reaction of [Zn₃Cl₃ L ], in which L ^3? is a tris(β‐diketiminate) cyclophane, with K(sBu)₃BH afforded [Zn₃(μ‐H)₃ L ] ( 2 ), as confirmed by NMR spectroscopy, NOESY, and X‐ray crystallography. The complex 2 was air‐stable and unreactive towards water, methanol, and other substrates (e.g., nitriles) at room temperature over 24 h but reacted with CO₂ (ca. 1 atm) to generate [Zn₃(μ‐H)₂(μ‐1,1‐O₂CH)] ( 3 ). In contrast, [Zn₃(OH)₃ L ] ( 4 ) was found to be unreactive toward CO₂ over the course of several days at 90 °C.     

Recent Advances in Homogeneous Carbonylation Using CO2 as CO Surrogate

Carbon dioxide is a sufficient and important carbon resource, which has been widely used as a C1 building block in synthetic chemistry. Carbonylations with CO are important processes in industry. However, due to the toxicity of CO, its storage and transport are problematic. Attentions are gradually focused on using other safe reagents to be the CO surrogates in carbonylation reactions. This review focuses on the summary of recent developments in using CO₂ as a CO surrogate in homogeneous catalysis. Reductive processes by using H₂, Si‐H, alcohols, etc and redox‐neutral processes are separately summarized.     

Selective Hydrogenation of CO2 to Ethanol over Cobalt Catalysts

Methods for the hydrogenation of CO₂ into valuable chemicals are in great demand but their development is still challenging. Herein, we report the selective hydrogenation of CO₂ into ethanol over non‐noble cobalt catalysts (CoAlO_x), presenting a significant advance for the conversion of CO₂ into ethanol as the major product. By adjusting the composition of the catalysts through the use of different prereduction temperatures, the efficiency of CO₂ to ethanol hydrogenation was optimized; the catalyst reduced at 600 ° gave an ethanol selectivity of 92.1 % at 140 °C with an ethanol time yield of 0.444 mmol g^?1 h^?1. Operando FT‐IR spectroscopy revealed that the high ethanol selectivity over the CoAlO_x catalyst might be due to the formation of acetate from formate by insertion of *CH_x, a key intermediate in the production of ethanol by CO₂ hydrogenation.     

Synthesis of zinc glutarates with various morphologies using an amphiphilic template and their catalytic activities in the copolymerization of carbon dioxide and propylene oxide

Various heterogeneous zinc glutarate (ZnGA) catalysts were synthesized in solvent systems of various polarities from zinc acetate dihydrate and glutaric acid with and without the aid of an amphiphilic block copolymer, poly(ethylene glycol‐b‐propylene glycol‐b‐ethylene glycol) (PE6400), as a template. The presence of the PE6400 template and the polarity of the solvent significantly affected the morphology, particle size, surface area, and crystallinity of the resulting catalyst. However, all the catalysts had the same crystal lattice unit cell structure and similar surface compositions. The surface compositions of the catalysts were quite different from those of conventionally prepared ZnGA catalysts, that is, those prepared from zinc oxide and glutaric acid in toluene. All these characteristics of the catalysts influenced the ZnGA‐catalyzed copolymerization of carbon dioxide and propylene oxide. The catalytic activities of the catalysts in this copolymerization depended primarily on their surface area and secondarily on their crystallinity; a larger surface area and a higher crystallinity resulted in higher catalytic activity. Of the catalysts that we prepared, the ZnGA catalyst that was prepared in ethanol containing 5.5 wt % water with the PE6400 template, ZnGA‐PE3, exhibited the highest catalytic activity in the copolymerization. The catalytic activity of ZnGA‐PE3 was attributed to its wrinkled petal bundle morphology, which provided a large surface area and high crystallinity. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 4079–4088, 2005     

Mg(OH)Cl/KI as a Highly Active Heterogeneous Catalyst for the Synthesis of Cyclic Carbonates from CO2 and Epoxides under Solvent‐Free Conditions

The combination of magnesium hydroxyl chloride [Mg(OH)Cl] with KI could efficiently catalyze the coupling reaction of carbon dioxide with epoxides to give the corresponding cyclic carbonates in good to excellent yields (75.0% –98.3%) and high selectivity (99.6%) in the absence of organic solvents. The heterogeneous catalyst Mg(OH)Cl/KI could be reused at least six times almost without loss of the catalytic activity. The influence of some key factors (such as molar ratio of Mg(OH)Cl to KI, temperature, reaction time and CO₂ pressure) on the reaction was also discussed.     

戊二酸锌体系催化合成二氧化碳基聚碳酸酯研究进展

二氧化碳(CO2)是一种无毒无害、性质稳定、可再生的C1资源.近年来,以CO2为原料合成的CO2基聚酯受到了广泛关注.其中,戊二酸锌催化CO2和环氧化物共聚生成聚碳酸酯成为CO2高值转化的途径之一(特别是戊二酸锌催化CO2和环氧化物共聚,包括引入酸酐、环酯等三元共聚).我们综述了近年来戊二酸锌催化CO2基聚合反应的研究进展,对催化剂发展、结构、活性和产物性能等进行了系统的总结,分析了戊二酸锌催化剂在聚合反应过程中的优势和不足,最后对戊二酸锌催化剂的发展、挑战等进行了展望分析.     

Highly Enantioselective Catalytic System for Asymmetric Copolymerization of Carbon Dioxide and Cyclohexene Oxide

A new ligand can be easily prepared, and its intramolecular dinuclear zinc complexes act as a high performance catalyst for the asymmetric alternating copolymerization of cyclohexene oxide and CO₂ under very mild conditions (1 atm CO₂, room temperature), affording completely alternating polycarbonates with up to 93.8 % enantiomeric excess (ee) and 98 % yield. A high M_n value of 28 600 and a relatively narrow polydispersity (M_w/M_n ratio) of 1.43 were also achieved.     

Fe-Al-α,α′-联吡啶络合催化聚合马来酸酐与环氧氯丙烷研究

研究了马来酸酐与环氧氯丙烷交替共聚，及Ｆｅ（ａｃａｃ）３ Ａｌ（ｉ Ｂｕ）３ α，α’ 联吡啶络合物（ａｃａｃ＝ 乙酰丙酮） 催化马来酸酐（ＭＡ） 和环氧氯丙烷交替共聚的特征，并用红外光谱，核磁共振谱研究了共聚物的结构。动力学研究表明共聚反应与单体浓度和催化剂浓度均呈一级关系。     

Highly Selective Olefin Production from CO2 Hydrogenation on Iron Catalysts: A Subtle Synergy between Manganese and Sodium Additives

Mn and Na additives have been widely studied to improve the efficiency of CO₂ hydrogenation to valuable olefins on Fe catalysts, but their effects on the catalytic properties and mechanism are still under vigorous debate. This study shows that Fe-based catalysts with moderate Mn and Na contents are highly selective for CO₂ hydrogenation to olefins, together with low selectivities for both CO and CH₄ and much improved space-time olefin yields compared to state-of-the-art catalysts. Combined kinetic assessment and quasi in situ characterizations further unveil that the sole presence of Mn suppresses the activity of Fe catalysts because of the close contact between Fe and Mn, whereas the introduction of Na mediates the Fe–Mn interaction and provides strong basic sites. This subtle synergy between Na and Mn sheds light on the importance of the interplay of multiple additives that could bring an enabling strategy to improve catalytic activity and selectivity.     

Cycloaddition of CO2 to epoxides catalyzed by polyaniline salts

The catalytic activity of polyaniline-HX (X=I, Br, Cl) (PANI-HI, PANI-HBr, PANI-HCl) for the cycloaddition of CO2 to propylene oxide (PO) to produce propylene carbonate (PC) was studied for the first time. It was shown that all the PANI salts were active for the reaction, and PANI-HI was most active and selective. On the basis of the preliminary results, the effect of the reaction conditions on the cycloadditions of CO2 to propylene oxide and epichlorohydrin was further investigated by using PANI-HI as the catalyst. The results indicated that the optimized temperature was around 115 degrees C. The maxima occurred in yield versus pressure curves at about 5 MPa for both substrates. Complete conversion was achieved in 3 h for epichlorohydrin and 6 h for propylene oxide at 115 degrees C and 5 MPa. With propylene oxide as the substrate, the reusability of PANI-HI was evaluated and no loss of catalytic activity was detectable after the catalyst had been reused five times. The catalyst was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which provided further evidence for the high stability of the catalyst. We believe that the catalyst has great potential for industrial applications because it has some unusual advantages, such as its easy preparation, high activity, selectivity, stability, low cost, and simple separation from products.