Multifunctional Polymers Based on Ionic Liquid and Rose Bengal Fragments for the Conversion of CO2 to Carbonates

Abstract

Supported ionic liquid-like phases (SILLPs) containing Rose Bengal (RB) units are used to develop organocatalytic systems for the cycloaddition of CO2 to epoxides. The activity of the supported RB fragments can be fine-tuned by controlling the nature of the SILLPs (i.e., substitution at the imidazolium ring, cross-linking degree of the polymeric matrix, loading, etc.). Such a catalytic system prepared from cheap, simple, and commercially available components provides high activity and stability, with no decay in activity for at least 10 days of continuous use under flow conditions.