Integration of lanthanide-imidazole containing polymer with metal-organic frameworks for efficient cycloaddition of CO2 with epoxides

The heterogeneous catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) conversion is an appealing yet highly challenging task. Introducing target-specific active sites into solid catalysts provides an alternative but promising way for boosting the chemical fixation of CO2. Here, we designed a lanthanide (III) complex with 1-vinyl imidazole (Vim) and immobilized it with DUT-5 by a combination of coordination and in situ polymerization. The resultant La-Vim/DUT-5 with high porosity and multiple active sites achieves a catalytic yield of 94% for CO2 cycloaddition of epichlorohydrin, much superior to that of each component. More importantly, such catalytic activities can be well maintained using simulated flue gas as C1 source under both dry and humid conditions. This work opens up a novel and general avenue to tailor the chemical functionality of MOFs for capturing and converting CO2 under actual conditions.