Heterogenization of a cyclocarbonation catalyst: Optimization and kinetic study

Different types of heterogeneous catalysts designed for a cyclocarbonation reaction between an epoxidized source and CO2 under supercritical conditions have been synthesized. The process implied a quaternization step where a (haloalkyl)trimethoxysilane reacted with tributylamine leading to a tributyl(trimethoxysilylalkyl)ammonium halide, with iodine and bromine as halogens. Then, a grafting step onto commercial fumed silica through condensation reaction between the silane part and Si OH surficial groups provided the immobilized catalyst. The efficiency of grafting has been validated by liquid 1H NMR, solid 29Si NMR and TG-DSC-MS analyzes. The benchmark cyclocarbonation reaction of polyethylene glycol diglycidylether at 80 °C and 100 bar during 4 h showed that the best immobilized catalyst was tributylpropylammonium iodide (IC3Q-EH5). It has also been shown that immobilization provided -surprisingly!- better conversions than the corresponding homogeneous catalyst’s: this phenomenon has been explained through an epoxide-ring-opening activating effect thanks to Si−OH surficial groups. Furthermore, kinetic studies performed by in situ Raman spectroscopy on IC3Q-EH5 showed that temperature had a strong influence on the yield of the reaction while CO2 pressure had only a small effect. Recycling of the catalyst has also been considered, but no precise conclusions could be conducted because of the high catalyst dispersion. Finally, the addition of a fluorinated alcohol co-catalyst allowed obtaining a similar yield but at 80 °C and 55 bar during only 2,5 h with the best candidate.