Using a CeO2 catalyst, researchers develop an effective catalytic process for the direct synthesis of polycarbonate diols without the need for dehydrating agents.
Using a CeO2 catalyst, researchers develop an effective catalytic process for the direct synthesis of polycarbonate diols without the need for dehydrating agents. The high yield, high selective process has CO2 blown at atmospheric pressure to evaporate excess water by-product allowing for a catalytic process that can be used with any substrate with a boiling point higher than water.
By combining a CeO2 catalyst with atmospheric carbon dioxide, researchers from Osaka City University, Tohoku University, and Nippon Steel Corporation have developed an effective catalytic process for the direct synthesis of polycarbonate diols without using dehydrating agents. Their method, published in Green Chemistry, does not rely on toxic chemical feedstock like phosgene and carbon monoxide, making it the world’s first high yield “green” reaction system.
There is a worldwide need to reduce carbon dioxide, one of the major greenhouse gases, and converting it into a useful chemical compound has attracted much attention in recent years. Various effective catalyst systems have been developed but they rely on toxic chemicals that churn out unmanageable by-products. Processes using substrates that are easily available and safe, with water as the only by-product, have emerged as an alternative. Yet, high levels of water by-product keep these processes from synthesizing enough polycarbonates.
"Most processes use a dehydrating agent to keep water levels low to overcome an equilibrium," said Masazumi Tamura of the Osaka City University, "but some of the issues to address are the high pressure of carbon dioxide needed, the recovery and regeneration of the dehydrating agent, and contamination of by-products generated by its use."
Read more at University of Colorado at Boulder
Image: Top: Two fossils of Brooksella alternata (Credit: Glenn Asakawa/CU Boulder)
