Chinese Journal of Catalysis

Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2010, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (10): 1242-1246.DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1088.2010.00425

• Research papers • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Copolymerization of Propylene Oxide and CO2 Catalyzed by a Rare Earth Borohydride-Diethylzinc-Glycerine Ternary System

LIU Guangxuan, LI Cong, CHEN Dan, NI Xufeng, JIANG Liming*, SHEN Zhiquan   

  1. Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Ministry of Education, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, Zhejiang, China
  • Received:2010-10-25 Online:2010-10-25 Published:2014-03-04

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Abstract: A ternary catalytic system composed of rare earth borohydrides, diethylzinc, and glycerine has been developed and found to be effective for the copolymerization of propylene oxide (PO) with carbon dioxide. The effect of catalyst composition and reaction conditions on the copolymerization was examined through orthogonal experiments. With Y(BH4)3•3THF-ZnEt2-glycerine molar ratio of 3:60:20, the highest turnover frequency (TOF) of 4908 g/(mol•h was achieved at 80 oC and 3.0 MPa of CO2 using 1,2-dimethoxyethane as solvent. The poly(propylene carbonate) had a carbonate unit content of 95.7% and number-average molecular mass of 6.97x104.

Key words: propylene oxide, carbon dioxide, copolymerization, polycarbonate, rare earth borohydride, diethylzinc, glycerine, orthogonal design