Synthesis of cyclic carbonates with carbon dioxide and cesium carbonate

Cyclic carbonates are important compounds for the synthesis of biocompatible polymers and linear dialkyl carbonates, as well as solvents and electrolytes. We report here the synthesis of such compounds from easily accessible starting materials with carbon dioxide as a C1 source and caesium carbonate as the base. This new methodology is able to yield 5- and 6-membered cyclic carbonates very efficiently in a green manner.