Photo-induced photo-thermal synergy effect leading to efficient CO2 cycloaddition with epoxide over a Fe-based metal organic framework

It is crucial to design and synthesize a catalyst that can catalyze the production of cyclic carbonates from CO2 and epoxide under mild conditions. Herein, we successfully synthesized a two-dimensional metal organic framework FeTPyP, which displays an outstanding capability to catalyze the CO2 cycloaddition reaction under light irradiation with a yield of styrene carbonate as high as 106.13 mmol/(g h). Characterizations suggests that the major reason is due to (1) the synergistic effect between photocatalysis and thermocatalysis and (2) ultraviolet light can promote the ring-opening reaction of styrene oxide. This work provides an alternative approach to further design efficient heterogeneous catalysts for photo-induced CO2 cycloaddition reaction via coupling thermocatalysis and photocatalysis.