Morphology of ZnO triggered versatile catalytic reactions towards CO2 fixation and acylation of amines at optimized reaction conditions

Hollow spherical ZnO particles with porous exterior surface are successfully synthesized and employed as a cost effective heterogeneous catalyst for CO2 fixation in a wide range of epoxides at atmospheric pressure and room temperature to form cyclic carbonates. In fact, conversion of carbon-di-oxide into value aided chemicals is one of the major areas of contemporary research. This versatile material is also capable to catalyze acylation of amines in solvent free condition. The end products of both the reactions i.e. cyclic carbonate and N-acylated amines have huge industrial importance. The pristine ZnO nanomaterial without incorporation of metal nanoparticles, has shown excellent reusability up to five consecutive reaction cycles without considerable loss in its efficiency which is quite encouraging for industrial realization.