Guanidine Hydrochloride/ZnI2 as Heterogeneous Catalyst for Conversion of CO2 and Epoxides to Cyclic Carbonates under Mild Conditions

In this article, the combination of guanidine hydrochloride with co-catalyst ZnI2 proved to be a highly efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the environmentally benign, solvent-free synthesis of cyclic carbonates under mild reaction conditions. The effects of different co-catalysts as well as reaction parameters including catalyst loadings, CO2 pressure, reaction temperature, and reaction time on the coupling reaction of CO2 to propylene oxide were thoroughly investigated. With the molar ratio of guanidine hydrochloride to ZnI2 at 5:1, excellent yield (94%) and selectivity (≥99%) of propylene carbonate were obtained under 100 °C and at 1 MPa for 1.5 h. Additionally, ZnI2 could be recycled, but because of the washing loss of guanidine hydrochloride, there was a slight decrease in the yield of propylene carbonate. Gratifyingly, the activity of the catalytic system could be restored by adding additional 20 mol% of fresh guanidine hydrochloride, thus exhibiting excellent recyclability of the ZnI2 catalyst. Moreover, the binary catalysts were also versatile when using other epoxides for CO2 cycloaddition. A possible reaction mechanism was proposed wherein guanidine hydrochloride plays a dual role in activating OPEN ACCESS Catalysts 2015, 5 120 CO2 and epoxide, and ZnI2 activated epoxide, simultaneously. The synergistic effect of guanidine hydrochloride and ZnI2 ensure the reaction proceeds effectively.