Highly efficient conversion of CO₂ to cyclic carbonates with a binary catalyst system in a microreactor: intensification of “electrophile–nucleophile” synergistic effect

Abstract

An intensification of the “electrophile–nucleophile” synergistic effect was achieved in a microreactor for the coupling reaction of CO2 and epoxides mediated by the binary Al complex/ternary ammonium salt catalyst system.

Jet Loop Reactor-Intensified CO2 Utilization: An Efficient Strategy for the Synthesis of Ethylene Carbonate

“…However, the intensification of mass transfer has not received significant attention . The most commonly reported strategy for intensifying gas–liquid mixture mass transfer is the utilization of a microreactor. – Chen et al reported that improved efficiency, compared to that of a stirred tank reactor (STR) with respect to the production of PC, can be attained using a microreactor . Similarly, we have achieved synergistic catalysis of cycloaddition reactions via a microreactor to produce various cyclic carbonates in an efficient manner .…”

“…30 Similarly, we have achieved synergistic catalysis of cycloaddition reactions via a microreactor to produce various cyclic carbonates in an efficient manner. 31 These results revealed that the structures of the reactor significantly influence the mass transfer of the gas−liquid reaction, thus affecting the production efficiency. The jet loop reactor (JLR), a loop reactor equipped with a self-priming ejector, is capable of improving the specific surface area of the gas−liquid contact according to the Venturi principle.…”

“…The most commonly reported strategy for intensifying gas–liquid mixture mass transfer is the utilization of a microreactor. – Chen et al reported that improved efficiency, compared to that of a stirred tank reactor (STR) with respect to the production of PC, can be attained using a microreactor . Similarly, we have achieved synergistic catalysis of cycloaddition reactions via a microreactor to produce various cyclic carbonates in an efficient manner . These results revealed that the structures of the reactor significantly influence the mass transfer of the gas–liquid reaction, thus affecting the production efficiency.…”

Intensified Continuous Flow Process for the Scalable Production of Bio‐Based Glycerol Carbonate**

“…However, the alleged inert nature of CO 2 leads to extended reaction times, hampering the global process efficiency. [26][27][28][29] Various carbonation protocols using CO 2 on oxiranes with homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts have been reported under flow conditions, [30][31][32][33] among which only two reports specifically disclosed the carbonation of 2 (Figure 1b,c) [22,25] with low overall productivities.…”

Experimental and theoretical study for CO2 activation and chemical fixation with epoxides

“…The catalytic synthesis of cyclic carbonate from epoxides and CO 2 is considered to be one of the most promising pathways to CO 2 utilization. [12][13][14] Cyclic carbonates have wide applications as green polar aprotic solvents, fuel additives, and chemical intermediates. [15][16][17][18] The chemical xations of CO 2 into cyclic carbonates are relatively simple from a chemical reactivity point of view, while in fact, the high temperature, high pressure, high catalyst loading, or a combination of these are required to make the reaction effective, which is not economically suitable and poses safety concerns as well.…”