Research Progress on Catalysts for Synthesis of Cyclic Carbonates from Carbon Dioxide and Epoxide

The catalysts for synthesis of cyclic carbonates(ethylene carbonate,propylene carbonate) from CO2 and ethylene epoxide or propylene epoxide were compared,and the future development direction was prospected. The results indicated that homogenous catalyst,in particular metal complex as catalyst had higher catalytic activity and selectivity in synthesis of cyclic carbonate from CO2 and epoxide,but the homogenous catalyst was difficult to be separated from products.Compared with the above mentioned catalyst,heterogeneous catalyst was easy to be separated from products.Common heterogeneous catalysts such as metal oxide and alkali metal zeolite had low catalytic activity under severe reaction conditions.So hetergenization of those homogeneous catalysts to give catalysts with high activity,selectivity,and stability will be the direction of the future development.