Dual-ionic imidazolium salts to promote synthesis of cyclic carbonates at atmospheric pressure

Novel dual-ionic imidazolium salts are shown to display excellent catalytic activity for cycloaddition of carbon dioxide and epoxides under room temperature and atmospheric pressure (0.1 MPa) without any solvent and co-catalyst leading to 96.1% product yield. It can be reused five times to keep the product yield over 90%. These intriguing results are attributed to a new reaction mechanism, which is supported by theoretical calculations along with the measurements of 13 C NMR spectrum and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The excellent catalytic activity can be traced to a CO 2 -philic group along with an electrophilic hydrogen atom. Our work shows that incorporation of CO 2 -philic group is an feasible pathway to develop the new efficient ionic liquids. • A series of novel Dual-ionic imidazolium salts are synthesized. • The 98.9% CPC yield could be achieved under 50 °C and 1 bar CO 2 . • A new reaction mechanism is proposed.