Using carbon dioxide and its sulfur analogues as monomers in polymer synthesis

Abstract The alternating copolymerization of one-carbon (C1) building blocks including carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and its sulfur analogues of carbon disulfide (CS 2 ) and carbonyl sulfide (COS) with epoxides afford new copolymers, namely polycarbonates and polythiocarbonates, with tailored chain structures and properties. This review mainly focuses on the recent advances in C1-involved copolymerization via heterogeneous catalysis of zinc-cobalt(III) double metal cyanide complex [Zn–Co(III) DMCC] catalyst. The chemistry of zinc-hydroxyl bond of Zn–Co(III) DMCC is responsible to the copolymerization of these C1 monomers with epoxides through the formation of C–O (S) bond. The syntheses of CO 2 -based copolymers with various topologies are also reviewed in detail. The utilization of CO 2 , COS and CS 2 as monomers for polymer synthesis have significant contributions to the sustainable use of renewable resources.