Silica supported polyvinyl pyridine as a highly active heterogeneous base catalyst for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from carbon dioxide and epoxides

Abstract

Reaction of epoxides and carbon dioxide to corresponding cyclic carbonates using silica supported polyvinyl pyridine as a highly active heterogeneous base catalyst has been reported. Typical optimized PVP/SiO2 catalyst can be prepared from 10wt.% loading of PVP using silica of surface area of 800m2g−1. The reaction gives 91% yield of propylene carbonate at 5.5MPa CO2 pressure, 150°C and 6h. The catalyst was found to be recyclable over four recycles without any loss in the catalytic activity.