Metal Embedded Porous Carbon for Efficient CO2 Cycloaddition under Mild Conditions

Nitrogen-doped porous carbon material was generated via thermal pyrolysis of zeolitic imidazole frameworks (ZIFs). The structure of the ZIF templates was tuned, so that the obtained product was an N-doped porous carbon-containing encapsulated metal nanoparticle. The hierarchical structural and unique properties of pyrolyzed materials are involved in further application, including catalysis. The as-synthesized porous carbon materials were applied as a catalyst for CO2 fixation on cyclic carbonates under near ambient pressure without solvent and co-catalyst. The zinc dispersion in highly porous carbon material, deriving from ZIF-8, exhibited a superior catalytic performance among the synthesized materials. The acid sites (Zn species) and the incorporated basic sites (N-species) present in the porous carbon material are essential for a high affinity for gas adsorption and CO2 conversion. Additionally, the catalyst was found to be very robust and stable during recycling studies as the catalytic performance remained high for seven cycles.