Cycloaddition Reactions of Epoxides and CO2 by the Novel Imidazolium‐Functionalized Metalloporphyrins: Optimization and Analysis using Response Surface Methodology

Abstract The production of cyclic carbonates using CO 2 and epoxides has received great attention due to 100 % atom utilization. Herein, novel imidazolium‐containing metalloporphyrins were synthesized as bifunctional catalysts for the cycloaddition reactions of epoxides and CO 2 . The reaction conditions were optimized and analyzed with the response surface methodology. Under the optimum condition using Zn‐porphyrin 1 as the catalyst, the turnover number (TON) and turnover number frequency (TOF) for the cycloaddition of CO 2 and ECH were 11,629 and 1,735, respectively. In addition, analysis of the RSM indicated that the CO 2 pressure had only a small impact on the yield. Based on this conclusion, the catalytic activity of 1 was further evaluated under mild conditions. Regardless of whether the CO 2 pressure is high or ambient, this Zn‐porphyrin exhibited an excellent performance with a high turnover number frequency.