Dialkylpyrazolium ionic liquids as novel catalyst for efficient fixation of CO2 with metal- and solvent-free

Abstract The efficient fixation of CO 2 without co-catalyst and solvent under metal-free condition is still an urgent topic in sustainable chemistry. In this work, a series of dialkylpyrazolium ionic liquids are employed to promote the cycloaddition of CO 2 and PO to produce PC. They would be easily synthesized by a simple one-pot reaction. The effect of alkyl chain length in cation and different anion is explored. Diethylpyrazolium iodide presents the excellent catalytic activity with the product yield of 96% and selectivity of 99% in a benign condition. Moreover, the catalyst could be reused for at least five times without significant loss of catalytic activity. An intensive structure-activity research testifies that the cycloaddition of CO 2 with PO is activated by a synergistic effect from both cation and anion of ILs. To confirm it, the detailed mechanism is investigated by density functional theory associated with the non-covalent interactions and atoms in molecule analysis. Besides the electrostatic interaction between cation of ionic liquid and PO, the noncovalent interaction, especially for hydrogen bond, plays a vital role in promoting the reaction.