Interfacial Frustrated Lewis Pairs of CeO2 Activate CO2 for Selective Tandem Transformation of Olefins and CO2 into Cyclic Carbonates

Effective activation of CO2 is a prerequisite for efficient utilization of CO2 in organic synthesis. Precisely controlling the interfacial events of solids shows potential for activation. Herein, defect-enriched CeO2 with constructed interfacial frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs, two adjacent Ce3+···O2–) effectively activates CO2 via the interactions between C/Lewis basic lattice O2– and the two O atoms in CO2/two adjacent Lewis acidic Ce3+ ions. Selective cyclic carbonate production from a catalytically tandem protocol of olefins and CO2 is used to demonstrate FLP-inspired CO2 activation.