Titanocene dichloride/KI: an efficient catalytic system for synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and CO2

Titanocene dichloride (Cp2TiCl2)/KI was developed to be an efficient catalytic system for the cycloaddition of CO2 to epoxides to synthesize relevant cyclic carbonates from epoxides and CO2. Various influencing factors on the coupling reaction, such as co-catalyst, temperature, CO2 pressure and reaction time, were investigated. The optimal reaction conditions were KI as co-catalyst, 150 degrees C reaction temperature, 12atm CO2 pressure and 4h reaction time using THF as solvent for the synthesis of propylene carbonate in 98% yield. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.