POSS-based ionic polymer catalyzed the conversion of CO2 with epoxides to cyclic carbonates under solvent- and cocatalyst-free conditions at ambient pressure.

A series of polymers are simply synthesized by the copolymerization of vinyl functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) with vinylimidazole based linker by modulating the molar ratio of two monomers. The synthesized POSS-based polymers are capable of catalyzing the cycloaddition reaction of CO 2 with a variety of epoxides at atmospheric pressure without solvent and co-catalyst, producing cyclic carbonates with conversion up to 97.1 %. Noteworthy, the reaction kinetics studies have demonstrated that the POSS-based polymers are able to significantly reduce the activation energy of cycloaddition reactions of CO 2. In addition, as a heterogenerous catalysts, the POSS-based polymer can be recovered and recycled 5 times without reducing catalytic performance. [Display omitted] • Polymers with tunable pore size are easily prepared by controlling the ratio of crosslinker in polymerization. • The cycloaddition reaction of CO2 with epoxides mediate by POSS-based polymers under mild conditions. • The activation energy of cycloaddition reaction of epichlorohydrin with CO2 was greatly reduced by POSS-based polymers. • The synthesized POSS-based polymers are suitable for wide range of epoxy substrates and can be recycled multiple times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]