Facile syntheses of ionic polymers for efficient catalytic conversion of CO2 to cyclic carbonates

Abstract The development of sustainable heterogeneous catalysts in converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into value-added chemicals is a promising way to alleviate the environmental pressure caused by global warming. Here, two novel ionic polymers (IPs, namely IP-1 and IP-2) with high yield and excellent physiochemical stability have been synthesized facilely from the direct reaction of 1,3,5-tris(bromomethyl)benzene with 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane and 3,6-di(1H-imidazol-1-yl)pyridazine, respectively. Their catalytic abilities to convert CO2 into cyclic carbonates have been explored, and both IP-1 and IP-2 show excellent catalytic activity under solvent-free, cocatalyst-free, and mild reaction conditions, and can be recycled and reused six times without decreasing their catalytic abilities. These materials are easily synthesized, and there are no metals and other additives during the catalytic process, which provides a possibility for the industrial immobilization of CO2 to carbonate over heterogeneous catalysts.