Solvent-free synthesis of cyclic carbonates from CO2 and epoxides catalyzed by reusable alumina-supported zinc dichloride

Abstract There is an ongoing interest to advance in the production of cyclic carbonates from carbon dioxide and epoxides under sustainable conditions. The ZnCl2/Al2O3-TBAI system has evinced to be a cheap, simple, readily accessible and reusable catalyst for the reaction of carbon dioxide with aromatic, aliphatic, cyclic and fluorinated epoxides with a low metal loading under solvent-free and mild conditions. This system has been also shown to be adequate for the reaction of epoxides with carbon disulfide to form the sulfur-containing cyclic carbonate analogs.