Since its discovery in 1969, countless advances have been made in the catalytic coupling of epoxides (oxiranes) and carbon dioxide (CO2) to yield polycarbonates and cyclic carbonates. However, the practice generally requires high pressures of ultrapure CO2 and the use of stainless steel reactors that are not feasible in undergraduate labs due to both safety and cost concerns. Our research group has been working to bring this green and atom-economic chemistry to undergraduates utilizing low-cost equipment including plastic centrifuge tubes. This seminar will detail our efforts to couple low-cost epoxides and freshly prepared dry ice as our CO2 source utilizing (salen)MX (M = Cr, Co, Al) catalysts and onium salt cocatalysts. Catalyst activity and selectivity for polycarbonate vs. cyclic carbonate production will be presented.

Catalytic coupling of epoxides and dry ice under mild conditions: Working toward an undergraduate laboratory experiment

255th National Meeting (2018)

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