Copolymerization of epoxides and CO2 represents a green pathway for the production of polycarbonates utilizing a renewable, abundant and non-toxic resource. Poly(cyclopentene carbonate) is one such polycarbonate. Upon degradation, it reverts to its comonomers (CO2 and cyclopentene oxide), whereas degradation of other polycarbonates gives cyclic carbonates that are unable to be repolymerized.1,2This special property makes poly(cyclopentene carbonate) an attractive polymer due to its ease of recyclability. However, this polymer is not accessible using conventional salen chromium catalyst/cocatalyst systems; cyclic cyclopentene carbonate is the only product.Bifunctional salen metal complexes bearing tethered cocatalyst have been reported to have high activity and polymer selectivity in catalyzing epoxide/CO2 coupling. Unlike the binary system, bifunctional salen cobalt and chromium catalysts are able to yield poly(cyclopentene carbonate). In this presentation, the investigation of epoxide/CO2 coupling catalyzed by salen metal complexes will be discussed.3 References (1) Darensbourg, D. J.; Yeung, A. D.; Wei, S.-H. Green Chem. 2013 , 15, 1578.(2) Darensbourg, D. J.; Wei, S.-H.; Yeung, A. D.; Ellis, W. C. Macromolecules 2013 , 46, 5850.(3) Darensbourg, D. J.; Chung, W.-C.; Wilson, S. J. ACS Catal. 2013 , submitted.

Copolymerization of cyclopentene oxide with CO<sub>2 </sub>utilizing bifunctional cobalt(III)- and chromium(III)-salen catalysts

247th National Meeting (2014)

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Copolymerization of cyclopentene oxide with CO2 utilizing bifunctional cobalt(III)- and chromium(III)-salen catalysts

Copolymerization of cyclopentene oxide with CO₂utilizing bifunctional cobalt(III)- and chromium(III)-salen catalysts