Anion effect controlling the selectivity in the zinc-catalysed copolymerisation of CO2 and cyclohexene oxide

Sait Elmas; Muhammad Afzal Subhani; Walter Leitner; Thomas E Müller

doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.7

Anion effect controlling the selectivity in the zinc-catalysed copolymerisation of CO2 and cyclohexene oxide

Beilstein J Org Chem. 2015 Jan 12:11:42-9. doi: 10.3762/bjoc.11.7. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Sait Elmas¹, Muhammad Afzal Subhani¹, Walter Leitner², Thomas E Müller¹

Affiliations

¹ CAT Catalytic Center, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 2, D-52074 Aachen, Germany. ; Tel.: +49 241 80 28594.
² Lehrstuhl für Technische Chemie und Petrolchemie, Institut für Technische und Makromolekulare Chemie, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, D-52074 Aachen, Germany.

Abstract

The choice of the anion has a surprisingly strong effect on the incorporation of CO2 into the polymer obtained during the zinc-catalysed copolymerisation of CO2 and cyclohexene oxide. The product span ranges from polyethercarbonates, where short polyether sequences alternate with carbonate linkages, to polycarbonates with a strictly alternating sequence of the repeating units. Herein, we report on the influence of the coordination ability of the anion on the selectivity and kinetics of the copolymerisation reaction.

Keywords: CO2 chemistry; anion effect; carbon dioxide; copolymerisation; polyethercarbonate; zinc catalyst.