The commonly accepted mechanism of CO2 fixation of epoxides to cyclic carbonates catalyzed by multifunctional non-halide organocatalysts is challenged by our computational DFT-D3 study, which revealed a new polymerization-like mechanism… Click to show full abstract
The commonly accepted mechanism of CO2 fixation of epoxides to cyclic carbonates catalyzed by multifunctional non-halide organocatalysts is challenged by our computational DFT-D3 study, which revealed a new polymerization-like mechanism comprising alternate epoxide and CO2 activation steps and a nested CO2 activation pathway. We investigated a recently reported CO2 coupling with epoxide reaction catalyzed by a bis-phenolic multifunctional catalyst. The predicted cis/trans product ratio is in excellent agreement with experimental results. The general applicability of the new mechanism is supported by another diamine-diacid catalyzed CO2 fixation reaction.
               
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