Functionalized DVB-based polymer catalysts for glycerol and CO2 catalytic conversion

In the present work, several DVB-based polymer catalysts were prepared and used for the synthesis of glycerol carbonate (GC) from glycerol carbonylation with carbon dioxide (CO2). Propylene oxide (PO) was introduced as a coupling reagent into the reaction to disturb the thermodynamics limitation. The characterization results confirmed the successful preparation of the functionalized polymer catalysts. P-DVB-(vIm-BuBr) showed the best catalytic performance among the prepared polymers. The high catalytic activity of P-DVB-(vIm-BuBr) was attributed to the presence of ionic liquid groups in the structure of the polymer. In addition, the preparation method had a significant influence on the catalytic activity of the polymer. Functionalization of the monomer with n-butyl bromide before polymerization could increase the content of ionic liquid groups of the polymer catalysts. During the reaction process, glycerol served not only as a reactant, but also as a co-catalyst to facilitate the coupling of PO with CO2. P-DVB-(vIm-BuBr) achieved PO conversions as high as 96% and GC yields of 81% under optimal reaction conditions. The catalyst was highly recyclable and maintained its catalytic activity after five reaction cycles.