Hybrid Amine-Functionalized Graphene Oxide as a Robust Bifunctional Catalyst for Atmospheric Pressure Fixation of Carbon Dioxide using Cyclic Carbonates

Vitthal B. Saptal, Takehiko Sasaki, Kei Harada, Daisuke Nishio-Hamane, Bhalchandra M. Bhanage*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

77 Scopus citations

Abstract

An environmentally-benign carbocatalyst based on amine-functionalized graphene oxide (AP-GO) was synthesized and characterized. This catalyst shows superior activity for the chemical fixation of CO2 into cyclic carbonates at the atmospheric pressure. The developed carbocatalyst exhibits superior activity owing to its large surface area with abundant hydrogen bonding donor (HBD) capability and the presence of well-defined amine functional groups. The presence of various HBD and amine functional groups on the graphene oxide (GO) surface yields a synergistic effect for the activation of starting materials. Additionally, this catalyst shows high catalytic activity to synthesize carbonates at 70 °C and at 1 MPa CO2 pressure. The developed AP-GO could be easily recovered and used repetitively in up to seven recycle runs with unchanged catalyst activity. Re-cyclo-addition: Amine-functionalized graphene oxide (AP-GO) is presented as an environmentally-benign carbocatalyst for the conversion of epoxides to cyclic carbonates using CO2. The synthesis and characterization of this catalyst is described, along with thorough optimization of the reaction conditions for the carbocatalyzed cycloaddition reaction under mild temperatures and pressures. AP-GO is proved to be a highly active catalyst for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates and can be recycled up to seven times without losing its catalytic activity.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)644-650
Number of pages7
JournalChemSusChem
Volume9
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 21 Mar 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • carbocatalyst
  • carbon dioxide
  • cycloaddition
  • epoxide
  • graphene oxide

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