Coupling of Epoxides with Carbon Dioxide Catalyzed by Ruthenium Porphyrin Complex

The coupling reaction of epoxides with carbon dioxide catalyzed by ruthenium porphyrin was studied. Reaction conditions were optimized. The new catalyst system of Ru(TPP)(PPh3)2/phenyltrimethylammonium tribromide (PTAT) promoted by ethyl diazoace-tate (EDA) is highly efficient to catalyze the coupling reaction of various epoxides and CO2 at 323 K and the molar ratio of sub-strate: catalyst:EDA:PTAT = 200:1:1:2.