Synthesis of cyclic carbonate from carbon dioxide and epoxides with polystyrene-supported quaternized ammonium salt catalysts

•A new polystyrene-supported quaternary ammonium salt catalyst.•Synergistic effect of NH group and quaternary ammonium group.•PS-alkyl-AX catalysts exhibited good reactivity for the cycloaddition of CO2 and epoxides.•DFT study confirmed the proposed reaction mechanism.

Polystyrene-supported quaternized ammonium salt catalysts (PS-alkyl-AX) were synthesized and characterized by various physicochemical analytic methods such as EA, FT-IR, XPS, and SEM. The reactivity of the catalysts was investigated for the synthesis of allyl glycidyl carbonate from CO2 and allyl glycidyl ether under mild reaction conditions. The PS-alkyl-AX catalysts showed good catalytic activity without using any solvent due to the synergistic effect of NH functional group and quaternary ammonium salt structure. Theoretical studies using density functional theory (DFT) was applied to investigate the reaction mechanism. The PS-hexyl-MeI catalyst was readily recoverable and reusable in subsequent reaction cycles without a significant loss in its activity.

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