Catalytic performance of Co 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate in the conversion of CO2 to cyclic carbonates.

This research reports on the catalytic performance of Co-BTC in solvent-free cycloaddition of CO₂ and styrene oxide for the production of cyclic carbonate using tetrabutylammonium bromide as a co-catalyst. The results demonstrated that the conversion of styrene oxide and the selectivity of the product were both more than 95% under relatively mild reaction conditions (10 bar CO₂, 110 °C). In addition, the Co-BTC catalyst maintained its unique morphology and excellent catalytic performance even after recycling it for three times. Co-BTC reported as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst in this work. The acid-base property of Co-BTC catalyst was investigated by NH₃ and CO₂ temperature-programmed desorption methods, and it was found that the acidic and alkaline nature of the Co-BTC catalyst did not changed apparently after the catalyst was recycled. So it was confirmed that the Co-BTC catalytic cycloaddition reaction was closely related to the Lewis acid-base distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]