Well-dispersed Mn/g-C3N4 as bifunctional catalysts for selective epoxidation of olefins and carbon dioxide cycloaddition

Epoxidation is an important chemical process for the production of epoxides, key building blocks in chemical industry. Despite great efforts being made to facilitate this process, it remains a significant challenge to develop cost-effective, environmental-friendly, and selective catalysts. Herein, we reported a highly dispersed Mn supported by g-C3N4 (Mn/g-C3N4) with Mn loading up to 2.56 wt%. The Mn/g-C3N4 exhibited satisfied catalytic performance for olefin epoxidation with excellent conversion (91%), high selectivity (93%) as well as outstanding recycling stability. Further analysis revealed the importance of Mn-N structure for the generation of active oxo-containing species and subsequent oxygen atom transfer. Besides, an efficient synthesis of cyclic carbonates from styrene epoxide and CO2 has been achieved (88% conversion, 89% selectivity) based on the polar Mn-N coordinated characteristics of Mn/g-C3N4 catalyst.