Simple carbonaceous-material-loaded mesoporous SiO2 composite catalyst for epoxide-CO2 cycloaddition reaction.

The developed simple mesoporous Ar-G-CM/SiO 2 composite with multiple hydrogen bond donor groups presented good to excellent catalytic activity to the CO 2 cycloaddition with various epoxides under metal-absent and solvent-free conditions. [Display omitted] • TAr-G-CM/SiO 2 catalyst presented efficient catalysis for CO 2 cycloaddition. • The efficient catalysis was originated from HBD groups and mesoporous structure. • The synthesis for catalyst was a green route without toxic solvent use. In this paper, a novel arginine-glucose derived carbonaceous-material-loaded SiO 2 composite catalyst (Ar-G-CM/SiO 2) was synthesized from non-toxic and harmless reagents (arginine, glucose and tetraethylorthosilicate) by simple hydrothermal process. Mesoporous SiO 2 with high specific area served as support for carbonaceous material and provided extra hydrogen bond donor (HBD) groups. Ar-G-CM/SiO 2 with acid-base dual functional groups (COOH, NH 2) and HBD group (OH) presented 62% yield and 99% selectivity to product of propylene carbonate in CO 2 cycloaddition reaction with propylene oxide even at 40 °C, 2 MPa under metal-absent and solvent-free conditions. For some less active epoxides with steric hindrance, Ar-G-CM/SiO 2 also showed good yield and selectivity over 90% by raising temperature to 120 °C. Furthermore, the Ar-G-CM/SiO 2 catalyst could be reused for six successive cycles without significant decrease in catalytic activity or structural deterioration, because the carbon deposition was restrained owing to the mesoporous structure of the catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]